Secure Asset Management LLC Acquires 293 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,447 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 75,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,466,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 230,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,965,000 after acquiring an additional 4,588 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 3,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.9 %

MRK stock opened at $96.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $244.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $99.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend 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 was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.