Entropy Technologies LP Has $4.08 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.3% in Q1, owning a total of 45,467 shares valued at $4,081,000.
• Merck reported $2.13 EPS for its last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share with a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.0%.

Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 63.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,467 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,624 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $82.27. 892,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,518,546. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The company has a market cap of $205.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $80.88 and its 200 day moving average is $83.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 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 Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.