Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Kowal Investment Group LLC

Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,358 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,636,000 after purchasing an additional 22,578 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $110.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.69. The stock has a market cap of $279.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.70, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.62.

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.