Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Has $32.83 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 329,991 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,651 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.9% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $32,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $409,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.4% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,551,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $237,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

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.