Kera Capital Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 3,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 154,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,334,000 after purchasing an additional 6,405 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 10,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $100.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.85.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

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.