Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Acquires 139,779 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 366.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 177,946 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 139,779 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.9% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,270,000 after buying an additional 4,433 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 30,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,636,000 after acquiring an additional 22,578 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America decreased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $113.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.06. The company has a market cap of $286.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

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.