Tallon Kerry Patrick Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $1,207,000. Sienna Gestion grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 55,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,811,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the second quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 78,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,693,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 7,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. Finally, Mittelman Wealth Management grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.8% during the second quarter. Mittelman Wealth Management now owns 5,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. 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 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 declared 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 represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. 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 payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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.