Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Goldstone Financial Group LLC

Goldstone Financial Group LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,129 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 217 shares during the quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $100.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. 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 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

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.