Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Buys 6,081 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 454,832 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,081 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 2.4% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $38,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 36,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,896,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.0% during the second quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 6,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.4% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 124,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,831,000 after purchasing an additional 34,438 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. 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 stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $113.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.46 and a 200-day moving average of $92.23. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $113.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.