RBA Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

RBA Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,453 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the period. RBA Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $99.79 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $252.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.54. 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. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.