Intech Investment Management LLC Has $36.50 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 294,806 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,040 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $36,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $117.23 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. 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 is $118.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.35. The company has a market cap of $296.92 billion, a PE ratio of 130.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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.