Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9%, acquiring an additional 26,263 shares and bringing their total to 707,194 shares valued at approximately $63.48 million.
• Analyst recommendations for Merck & Co., Inc. have varied, with several firms lowering ratings or price targets, while the stock maintains a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.82%, with a dividend payout ratio of 47.16%.

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 707,194 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,263 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $63,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $398,000. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 98.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 7,558 shares of the company's stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 3,751 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,053,876 shares of the company's stock worth $104,840,000 after purchasing an additional 344,457 shares during the period. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $785,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE MRK traded up $0.38 on Wednesday, hitting $83.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,140,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,814,104. The business's fifty day moving average price is $80.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.98. The stock has a market cap of $208.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.