Diversified Trust Co Has $16.11 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 161,964 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,691 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $101.54. The stock had a trading volume of 3,725,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,413,316. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63.

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 return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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.