Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,733 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $98.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. 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 research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on 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. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.