Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,247 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,916 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.67.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $2.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $98.00. 15,879,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.61. The company has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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