Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC Invests $252,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $484,231,000 after buying an additional 2,610,800 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $611,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,463 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company's stock worth $6,696,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of MRK traded down $2.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.00. The company had a trading volume of 15,879,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. 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 company has a market capitalization 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. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The company's fifty day moving average price is $100.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.85.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. 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 (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.