Wynn Capital LLC Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wynn Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,179 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.3% of Wynn Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Wynn Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 20,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Barclays lowered their target price 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. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $99.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.19. 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 stock has a market cap of $252.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.