Brooklyn Investment Group Purchases 11,599 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103.8%, acquiring an additional 11,599 shares to bring its total to 22,770 shares worth approximately $2,044,000.
• Several analysts have recently downgraded Merck, with Cantor Fitzgerald lowering its rating to "cautious" and Citigroup reducing its price target from $115.00 to $84.00.
• Merck is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share on October 7th, with an annualized yield of 3.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 49.92%.

Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 103.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,770 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,599 shares during the quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $81.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.