Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Raised by Berkshire Bank

Berkshire Bank raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,831 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 916 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 312,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,657,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174 shares during the last quarter. Granite FO LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $292,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 53,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,644,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $3,330,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $247.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.