Red Spruce Capital LLC Buys 3,299 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,739 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.9% of Red Spruce Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Red Spruce Capital LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 51,369 shares of the company's stock worth $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.71. 7,794,347 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,057,296. The company's 50-day moving average price is $99.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.20. The company has a market cap of $242.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. 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 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.