Leelyn Smith LLC Has $4.32 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Leelyn Smith LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,516 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,048 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Independent Investors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Johnson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% in the third quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $109.21 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $112.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $103.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.81. 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 company has a market capitalization of $271.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 44.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.20.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.