Alta Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $331,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alta Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $250.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day moving average of $108.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.