Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Pure Financial Advisors LLC

Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,588 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,517 shares during the quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. 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. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $100.01 and its 200-day moving average is $109.61.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were 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 was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.