Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Increased by Hilltop Partners LLC

Hilltop Partners LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,984 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the second quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 592,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,349,000 after buying an additional 6,861 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,356,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,896,000 after acquiring an additional 80,663 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 55,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 10,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the second quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $118.45 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $121.20 and a 200-day moving average of $125.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Barclays lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.