Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Altus Wealth Management LLC

Altus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.3% of Altus Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Altus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. HSBC raised 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, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.