Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.76 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,412 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,692 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company's stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company's stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $107.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.

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