Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Acquires 12,479 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. has increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 76.7% during the first quarter, owning 28,759 shares valued at approximately $2.58 million.
• A majority of 76.07% of Merck's stock is held by hedge funds and institutional investors, with several firms, including Simplicity Wealth LLC and Quilter Plc, significantly increasing their stakes.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a yield of 3.96% and a payout ratio of 47.16%.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 76.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,759 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,479 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $79.27. 11,898,764 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,513,969. The business's 50 day moving average is $80.41 and its 200 day moving average is $84.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30. The company has a market capitalization of $199.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 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.