SYM FINANCIAL Corp Purchases 728 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,866 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim reduced their price target on 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. Finally, 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 stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $98.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.67. The company has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 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 posted 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.