180 Wealth Advisors LLC Has $3.14 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,523 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,177 shares during the quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $99.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $252.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were 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 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

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.