Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Lifted by Edge Capital Group LLC

Edge Capital Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,818 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,764 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.0% of Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $20,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $526,000. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 317,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,364,000 after buying an additional 12,705 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.8% in the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,073,000 after purchasing an additional 2,949 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $117.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $296.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $117.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.31. 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 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.