Hedges Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hedges Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,250 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $96.57 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.11. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm 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 3.36%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.