BIP Wealth LLC Acquires 970 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BIP Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,044 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after buying an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $96.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $108.09 and a 200-day moving average of $118.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.