Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Purchases New Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC acquired 74,663 shares of Merck & Co., Inc., valued at approximately $6.7 million, making it the firm's 20th largest holding.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $2.13, surpassing estimates, while the company generated $15.81 billion in revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 4.1% yield and a payout ratio of nearly 50%.

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 74,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,702,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.2% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $80.73. 6,882,063 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,387,496. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.