Mittelman Wealth Management Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mittelman Wealth Management raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,638 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Mittelman Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $698,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MRK opened at $118.68 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $300.59 billion, a PE ratio of 131.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $118.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend 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.