Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Apella Capital LLC

Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,470 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,207,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. True Vision MN LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $436,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 764,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,626,000 after buying an additional 18,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $100.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

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.