KFG Wealth Management LLC Buys 536 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

KFG Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,906 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $95.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.