Capital Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 2,882 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,576 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,474 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after buying an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,016,374,000 after acquiring an additional 309,656 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $1.22 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $100.47. 2,247,296 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,836,769. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $100.18 and a 200-day moving average of $110.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $254.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.