Connors Investor Services Inc. Lowers Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.6% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of MRK opened at $117.96 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $298.77 billion, a PE ratio of 131.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.