Eldred Rock Partners LLC Has $10.18 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Eldred Rock Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,848 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 3.4% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in 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 during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.00 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased 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 report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

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.