Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.14, RTT News reports. 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & updated its FY17 guidance to $3.76-3.88 EPS.
Shares of Merck & (NYSE:MRK) opened at 61.84 on Friday. Merck & has a 12 month low of $58.29 and a 12 month high of $66.80. The company has a market cap of $168.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.83.
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 given 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 3.04%. Merck &’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.11%.
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Afam Capital Inc. increased its stake in Merck & by 14.5% in the second quarter. Afam Capital Inc. now owns 36,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,356,000 after buying an additional 4,667 shares during the last quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & during the second quarter worth about $1,143,000. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & by 2.5% in the second quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 22,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,414,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Merck & by 976.9% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 44,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,866,000 after buying an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & by 4.1% in the second quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC now owns 78,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,085,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.46% of the company’s stock.
Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. BidaskClub cut Merck & from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. HSBC Holdings plc raised Merck & from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. UBS AG raised their target price on Merck & from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Merck & in a research report on Tuesday, June 6th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Merck & from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Merck & has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.58.
Merck & Company Profile
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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