City State Bank Purchases 2,331 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

City State Bank grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,327 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,331 shares during the quarter. City State Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Monday, reaching $99.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,482,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,765,870. 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 company has a market capitalization of $252.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $100.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.