Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Has $6.14 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,605 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,459 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,267.3% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 250,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,048,000 after purchasing an additional 240,201 shares during the last quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 199,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,727,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the second quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 4,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 26,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,245,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.99 and a 200-day moving average of $124.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $291.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

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.