Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. Has $937,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,421 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE MRK opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $247.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $99.80 and a 200-day moving average of $108.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.