Transform Wealth LLC Purchases 3,039 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Transform Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,678 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,039 shares during the period. Transform Wealth LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company's stock worth $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company's stock worth $2,016,374,000 after purchasing an additional 309,656 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,069,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,479,509. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Leerink Partners dropped 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.