Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Sunflower Bank N.A.

Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,830 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.4% of Sunflower Bank N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $100.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.36. The stock has a market cap of $255.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered 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 note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

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.