InvesTrust Invests $891,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

InvesTrust acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $891,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.94. 5,050,759 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,609,207. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.26. The company has a market cap of $252.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

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.