VCI Wealth Management LLC Buys 1,489 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

VCI Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,950 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $325,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 312,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,657,000 after buying an additional 9,174 shares during the period. Granite FO LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 53,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,644,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $3,330,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $99.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.