Hoese & Co LLP Has $121,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hoese & Co LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,218 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the quarter. Hoese & Co LLP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE MRK opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $100.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.61. 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 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.