Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $189.26 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $189,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 6,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 223,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 4,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 82.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 2,869 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $95.72 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $99.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.20. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.