Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC Invests $1.37 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.1% of Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in 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 last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during 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 in the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC raised shares of 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. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $89.52 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $226.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $99.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.33 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given 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 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.