M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $542,000.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company's stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company's stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.67.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
MRK traded down $2.70 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $98.00. 15,879,862 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $100.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.61.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
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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