Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Apexium Financial LP

Apexium Financial LP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,467 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the quarter. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

MRK stock opened at $95.54 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.69. 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 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.