Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC Has $5.87 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 109.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,658 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,643 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.8% of Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the 2nd 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 boosted its position in shares of 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 boosted its position in shares of 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 boosted its position in shares of 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 boosted its position in shares of 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 Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.72. The company had a trading volume of 13,069,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,479,509. The company has a market capitalization of $242.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $99.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm 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 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.