Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by OMNI 360 Wealth Inc.

OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,731 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 24,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,288,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $114.07. 1,812,664 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,673,633. The firm has a market capitalization of $288.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.09.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm 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 41.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.