Empower Advisory Group LLC Acquires 15,342 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.9%, acquiring 15,342 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 155,854 shares valued at approximately $13.99 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also made significant changes to their positions in Merck, including Pacer Advisors Inc. which grew its stake by 2,240.9% during the same period, now owning nearly 5.29 million shares.
• Merck's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, beating estimates by $0.10, despite revenue falling short at $15.81 billion compared to expectations of $15.92 billion.

Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,854 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,342 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,143,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $80.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $202.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $80.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.63%. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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