Atomi Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,517 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,499 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 51,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 6,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 26,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,584,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,922,000 after buying an additional 634,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8 %

MRK opened at $96.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $243.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.