Stephens Inc. AR Buys 7,094 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 314,883 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,094 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $26,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MRK opened at $108.20 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $112.90. 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 50 day simple moving average of $100.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.53. The firm has a market cap of $268.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.