Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,760,748 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,009 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $154,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Intrua Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 8,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 54.7% in the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 2,254 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.6% during the third quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 36,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE MRK opened at $108.89 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $112.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.14.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

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.