Inlet Private Wealth LLC Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Inlet Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.5% during the first quarter, holding a total of 67,520 shares valued at approximately $6.06 million.
• Merck's latest earnings report showed earnings per share of $2.22, exceeding expectations, although revenue of $15.53 billion fell short of estimates and showed a 1.6% decline year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a yield of 3.82%, with a payout ratio of 47.16%.

Inlet Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,520 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,553 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.6% of Inlet Private Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Inlet Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $398,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,556.0% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,656 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,285,905 shares of the company's stock worth $625,322,000 after buying an additional 629,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 546,590 shares of the company's stock worth $54,375,000 after buying an additional 207,497 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.8%

MRK stock opened at $84.82 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $128.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $212.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.69.

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.

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