Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,895 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,726 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & were worth $2,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & by 37.1% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 38,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after buying an additional 10,507 shares during the period. MEMBERS Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Merck & during the first quarter valued at approximately $415,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,708,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Merck & by 1.4% in the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 1,065,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,700,000 after buying an additional 14,340 shares during the period. Finally, Marsico Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,429,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Merck & Company, Inc. (MRK) traded up 0.32% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.38. 6,050,985 shares of the company traded hands. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.36 and a 200-day moving average of $63.80. Merck & Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.29 and a 52 week high of $66.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77 and a beta of 0.80.
Merck & (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.14. Merck & had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 17.14%. The business had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Company, Inc. will post $3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Merck &’s payout ratio is 76.11%.
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Several brokerages have commented on MRK. HSBC Holdings plc upgraded shares of Merck & from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. BidaskClub lowered shares of Merck & from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Merck & from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. UBS AG upped their price objective on shares of Merck & from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Merck & and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Merck & has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.58.
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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