Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Secure Asset Management LLC

Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,447 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 75,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,466,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 230,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,965,000 after buying an additional 4,588 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 3,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MRK opened at $96.57 on Friday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $99.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.11. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given 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 yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. 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. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.