Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 2,654 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,012 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $100.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.36. The stock has a market cap of $255.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

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.