Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 1,659 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,997 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.2% of Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Clarius Group LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 24,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 2,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,701,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, IAM Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 17,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.01 and a 200-day moving average of $109.85. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.