Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,098 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RMR Wealth Builders raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 26,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,650,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Stolper Co raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Stolper Co now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Sendero Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MRK opened at $100.20 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $100.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.19. The stock has a market cap of $253.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.