Stolper Co Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Stolper Co increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,138 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Stolper Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ERn Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 186,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,504,000 after acquiring an additional 9,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

MRK opened at $100.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $253.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $100.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share 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. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.