Norway Savings Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Norway Savings Bank grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,121 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of MRK traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.11. The company had a trading volume of 6,401,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,128,113. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.57.

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.