Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Howard Capital Management Group LLC

Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 295,240 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,962 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 2.0% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Howard Capital Management Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $29,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 51,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,359,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 6,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 26,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,584,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $319,922,000 after purchasing an additional 634,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,767 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.72. The company had a trading volume of 13,069,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,479,509. The stock has a market cap of $242.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $99.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.