Diversify Wealth Management LLC Acquires 6,824 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,295 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,824 shares during the quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of 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. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

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.