Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,721 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $99.79 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $252.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.54.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

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.