KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 39.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,213 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,161 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $100.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.12. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.