Absher Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Absher Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,229 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,649,000 after buying an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.52 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.33 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.12. The company has a market cap of $226.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.