Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,920 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,387 shares during the quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of 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. Sanford C. Bernstein began 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.54 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $99.80 and its 200 day moving average is $108.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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.