Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 4,991 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 64.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,756 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,991 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Absher Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 54,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,394,000 after acquiring an additional 18,688 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 137,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,684,000 after acquiring an additional 22,112 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 73,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,267,000 after acquiring an additional 9,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 31,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,154,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3 %

MRK opened at $89.52 on Thursday. 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 $87.33 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $226.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.