IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Purchases 13,692 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its stock position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8%, owning a total of 153,756 shares valued at approximately $13.8 million.
• Merck reported an earnings per share of $2.13 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share.
• Institutional investors currently hold 76.07% of Merck's stock, with notable increases from firms such as Pacer Advisors and Northern Trust Corp during the fiscal period.

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 153,756 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,692 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.6% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the company's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 3,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.41. The company had a trading volume of 12,031,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,850,719. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $80.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date 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.