Ignite Planners LLC Has $528,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ignite Planners LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 778 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 20,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,087.8% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 10,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 9,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 98,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,755,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 target price for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $99.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $100.13 and its 200-day moving average is $110.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change 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 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.