Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC

Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.5% of Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,012,000 after purchasing an additional 15,779 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,876,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 310,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,017,000 after buying an additional 20,645 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $99.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.92. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.