Atlas Private Wealth Advisors Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Atlas Private Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,532 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 11,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 17,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 6,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, LexAurum Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 11,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

MRK stock opened at $95.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.