Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Grows Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,237 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,815 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE MRK opened at $106.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.94. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $107.59.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.