Motive Wealth Advisors Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Motive Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,064 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Services purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $625,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,051,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,483,000 after purchasing an additional 275,056 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Finally, Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $95.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 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 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.