Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9%, owning 292,645 shares valued at approximately $25.5 million, making it the company's 25th largest holding.
• Other institutional investors, such as Charles Schwab Investment Management, increased their holdings by significant percentages, with Schwab raising its stake by 144.6% in the last quarter.
• Merck & Co., Inc. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized payment of $3.24 and a dividend yield of 3.9%.

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,645 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,532 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.5% of Ethic Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $25,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during 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 worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.9%

MRK traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.35. 10,479,282 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,960,206. The firm's fifty day moving average is $81.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

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.