Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by IFS Advisors LLC

IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 797 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.1% of IFS Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. IFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $79,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $1,207,000. Sienna Gestion lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 55,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,811,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 78,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,693,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 7,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Finally, Mittelman Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.8% in the second quarter. Mittelman Wealth Management now owns 5,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

MRK opened at $100.72 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $100.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.