Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Raised by RMR Wealth Builders

RMR Wealth Builders lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,636 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the quarter. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.20 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 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. The stock has a market cap of $253.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

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.