Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its position in shares of Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 183,506 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Merck & were worth $11,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Merck & by 6.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 153,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,737,000 after buying an additional 9,526 shares during the period. KAMES CAPITAL plc raised its position in Merck & by 11.0% in the first quarter. KAMES CAPITAL plc now owns 1,453,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,317,000 after buying an additional 144,361 shares during the period. Hudock Capital Group LLC raised its position in Merck & by 15.7% in the first quarter. Hudock Capital Group LLC now owns 38,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,472,000 after buying an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its position in Merck & by 4.8% in the first quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 314,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,964,000 after buying an additional 14,419 shares during the period. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & by 10.0% in the first quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 777,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,416,000 after buying an additional 70,996 shares during the period. 73.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) opened at 63.10 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 34.16 and a beta of 0.80. Merck & Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.18 and a 1-year high of $66.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.78.
Merck & (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. Merck & had a return on equity of 25.75% and a net margin of 17.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Company, Inc. will post $3.87 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Merck &’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.11%.
Several brokerages have commented on MRK. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Merck & in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Merck & from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Merck & from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 26th. Credit Suisse Group set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Merck & and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 6th. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Merck & in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.80.
In related news, Director C Robert Kidder sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.54, for a total transaction of $317,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $909,702.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.
About Merck &
Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company. The Company offers health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, Healthcare Services and Alliances. The Company’s Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products marketed either directly by the Company or through joint ventures.
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