Sax Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,338 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,712 shares during the period. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 35,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after buying an additional 18,843 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 4,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.07 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $107.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.13.

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.