Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Boosted by Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,192 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,258 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $100.25 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $253.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.