GFS Advisors LLC Acquires 1,675 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

GFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,561 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.2% of GFS Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. GFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.00. The stock has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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.