First Affirmative Financial Network Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First Affirmative Financial Network raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,309 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $325,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Creekside Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $254,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $61,256,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8 %

MRK opened at $98.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $248.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $99.85 and its 200 day moving average is $108.13. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.