IFS Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 797 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.1% of IFS Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. IFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $79,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

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.