Independent Wealth Network Inc. Has $260,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,609 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 368,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,650,000 after acquiring an additional 14,855 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 6,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MRK opened at $96.57 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $99.85 and its 200-day moving average is $109.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.