Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,102 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change 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%.

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.