Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Has $4.49 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 42.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,154 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,551 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. apricus wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 22,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,191,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 16,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 8,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 21,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $122,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.80 and a 200-day moving average of $108.81. 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 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.