Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by apricus wealth LLC

apricus wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,023 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. apricus wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MRK opened at $95.54 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $99.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.81. 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 has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. 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 (DPR) is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

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.