Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC

Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 66.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 65,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,498,000 after buying an additional 3,751 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 47,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 3,410 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 19,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advocate Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 81,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,069,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $95.54 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $99.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal 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 represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

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.