Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stake Lifted by Mayfair Advisory Group LLC

Mayfair Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,389 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3 %

MRK stock opened at $99.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $252.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.19. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One equities research 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, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.