17,939 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Bought by Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC

Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 17,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners decreased 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $98.00 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $100.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS 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. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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.