Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Has $3.93 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 39,504 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,490,000. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 18,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after buying an additional 6,386 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,632 shares during the period. Finally, Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,530,000 after purchasing an additional 7,863 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $90.99 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $87.33 and a one 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. The company has a market cap of $230.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 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 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

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.