Brave Asset Management Inc. Has $1.37 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Brave Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 827 shares during the period. Brave Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 186,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,504,000 after purchasing an additional 9,571 shares during the period. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 15,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 4,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 9,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MRK opened at $100.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $253.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.