Ascent Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ascent Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,752 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,670 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 6,421 shares in the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 14,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP now owns 7,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,094,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,427,000 after purchasing an additional 48,501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $113.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $287.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.32, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $116.70 and its 200 day moving average is $124.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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, Bank of America reduced their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

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.