B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $14.41 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,562 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 43,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,993,000 after buying an additional 2,675 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 13,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,187,000. American Trust grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 3,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 8,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $102.00 on Friday. 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. The company has a market cap of $258.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.96.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 64.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.20.

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.