Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC Has $9.25 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 81,479 shares of the company’s stock after selling 442 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position 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 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Guggenheim decreased their target price on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $101.84 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $104.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.35. The company has a market cap of $257.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.