Impact Partnership Wealth LLC Has $1.11 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,134 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $95.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $99.81 and its 200 day moving average is $109.02. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.