CCM Investment Advisers LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,827 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,093 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.5% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 424.3% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 7,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 5,668 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 19,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,349,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,242,000 after purchasing an additional 20,870 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 4,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Private Trust Co. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 28,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $99.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,575,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,373,784. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.00.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.