Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,842 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $325,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 312,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,657,000 after buying an additional 9,174 shares in the last quarter. Granite FO LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $292,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 53,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,644,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $3,330,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $99.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $247.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a boost 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 research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.