Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,751 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.8% of Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $42,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $267,000. Creekside Partners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $254,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,256,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $98.23 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.85 and a 200-day moving average of $108.13. The firm has a market cap of $248.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 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. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.