Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Global Financial Private Client LLC

Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,743 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.8% of Global Financial Private Client LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Global Financial Private Client LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $99.70 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $252.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $100.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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