Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Bennett Associates Wealth Management

Bennett Associates Wealth Management grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,190 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Bennett Associates Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,207,000. Sienna Gestion lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 55,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,811,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 78,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,693,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 7,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mittelman Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.8% in the second quarter. Mittelman Wealth Management now owns 5,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve 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 company has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change 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 3.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

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.