Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,420 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $988,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 82,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 70,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price target on 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. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

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.