Empirical Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 409.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,919 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,038 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 18,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management now owns 2,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $100.72 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $100.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 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.