Ieq Capital LLC Acquires 23,322 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 21.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,584 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,322 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $117.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $118.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.35. The company has a market cap of $296.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.26, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

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.