Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,485 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,116 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corundum Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 11,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,409,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 23,813 shares of the company's stock worth $2,373,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. BigSur Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,710 shares of the company's stock worth $5,577,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bremer Bank National Association raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Bremer Bank National Association now owns 51,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,143,000 after acquiring an additional 14,267 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.18. The stock had a trading volume of 11,261,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,658,532. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $99.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $243.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 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 business earned $2.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a boost 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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 report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.