Doliver Advisors LP Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Doliver Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,347 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Doliver Advisors LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays reduced 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. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MRK traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $99.96. The company had a trading volume of 5,051,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,702,290. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.68. The stock has a market cap of $252.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 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. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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.