Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Stablepoint Partners LLC

Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,623 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Novare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 194,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,360,000 after acquiring an additional 6,447 shares during the period. Embree Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 4,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 8,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 26,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KFG Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on 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. Guggenheim reduced their price objective 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. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $95.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. 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 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

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.