Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 861,944 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,070 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $86,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.72 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.20. The firm has a market cap of $242.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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. 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 analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.