Sanctuary Advisors LLC Invests $61.26 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 466,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,256,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 increased 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $114.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $290.66 billion, a PE ratio of 127.51, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $116.27 and its 200 day moving average is $123.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share 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 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.