Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 20,870 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,349,434 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,870 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $134,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $99.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,927,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,267,713. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $100.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $252.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.