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

HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 52.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,448 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $98.80 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.67. The firm has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. 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.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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

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.