Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stake Increased by Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC

Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,966 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,433 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 30,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,636,000 after acquiring an additional 22,578 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $115.86 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.57. 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 twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $293.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.73, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.