Executive Wealth Management LLC Buys 37,059 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Executive Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 56.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,084 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,059 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.9% of Executive Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Executive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $103.79 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.11 and its 200-day moving average is $115.56. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $262.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.39. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.57%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.