AM Investment Strategies LLC Acquires 533 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,514 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $95.54 on Friday. The firm 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. 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 data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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