Regal Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,559 shares of the company's stock after selling 965 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bromfield Sneider Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Hikari Power Ltd grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.0% during the first quarter. Hikari Power Ltd now owns 23,630 shares of the company's stock worth $1,939,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. ACG Wealth grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. ACG Wealth now owns 13,523 shares of the company's stock worth $1,110,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.4% during the first quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 926 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the first quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 87,820 shares of the company's stock worth $7,206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the period. 72.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Get Merck & Co. Inc. alerts:Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.41 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $90.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.32. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $70.89 and a one year high of $95.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.14.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.18. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.00% and a return on equity of 50.02%. The firm had revenue of $14.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.27%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Atlantic Securities lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 29th. SVB Leerink reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, June 6th. Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.44.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
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Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.
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