Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 32.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,698 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $454,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 26,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 86,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,938,000 after acquiring an additional 5,421 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.2% during the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 4,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 211.0% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 118,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,223,000 after purchasing an additional 80,547 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3 %

MRK opened at $129.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $328.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.21, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.96. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

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.