SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. Buys 300 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,362 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.5% of SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $99.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G 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 firm 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.