Cohen Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,598 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 30,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,057,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Finally, Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 45,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,483,000 after buying an additional 2,552 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.72 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 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, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim decreased 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. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

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.