Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Captrust Financial Advisors

Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,102,540 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,715 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $125,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.1% during the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% during the first quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 24,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,776,000 after acquiring an additional 2,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the first quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $103.12 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. 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 earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.