Delphi Management Inc. MA Has $1.60 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Delphi Management Inc. MA cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 15,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after buying an additional 2,815 shares in the last quarter. Accuvest Global Advisors acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,090,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,146,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,964,000 after purchasing an additional 35,684 shares in the last quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,496,000. Finally, Holderness Investments Co. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 47,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,148,000 after purchasing an additional 11,022 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $113.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $116.46 and its 200-day moving average is $123.97. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $287.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.