WorthPointe LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

WorthPointe LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 28.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,132 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. WorthPointe LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 230.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,388,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,821 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $101.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued 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 yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.