BigSur Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BigSur Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,710 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.6% of BigSur Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. BigSur Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $100.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.61.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.