Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH Acquires 5,466 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 79,030 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,466 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.0% of Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 72,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,245,000 after buying an additional 3,629 shares in the last quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,255,000. Matrix Trust Co grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 15,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 548,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,562,000 after purchasing an additional 32,108 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $99.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,424,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,765,870. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $252.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm 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 firm earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio 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.