Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Everett Harris & Co. CA

Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 199,268 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,282 shares during the quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $988,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 82,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,213,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned 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. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.