Keudell Morrison Wealth Management Has $1.24 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Creekside Partners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $254,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.9% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,058,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,980,000 after purchasing an additional 489,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 12,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,594,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. 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. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed 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 for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $98.91 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $250.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.00. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.