18,548 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Solidarity Wealth LLC

Solidarity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 18,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,860,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARS Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 122,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 55,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,552,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,247,000 after buying an additional 1,517 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 4,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Hampshire Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 49,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,912,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $96.18 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $243.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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 return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. 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 recent research reports. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.