JPL Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

JPL Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,896 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,770,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 24,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,989,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the second quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 50,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,203,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 13,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $118.45. The company had a trading volume of 8,876,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,545,494. The business’s 50-day moving average is $121.20 and its 200 day moving average is $125.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $300.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.61, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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 under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.