Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Purchases 3,086 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

by · The Markets Daily

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 175,716 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,086 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,683,000 after purchasing an additional 169,536 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after acquiring an additional 9,376 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. 74.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $132.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.40.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $114.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.36 and a 12 month high of $119.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.49. The company has a market cap of $290.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.76, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 18.26%. The firm had revenue of $16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.11%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $4,602,729.69. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total transaction of $213,052.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,394.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction of $4,602,729.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at $11,738,572.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.

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