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Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Buys 3,282 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. logo with Medical background

Key Points

  • Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4%, acquiring an additional 3,282 shares and bringing its total holdings to 19,376 shares valued at $1,739,000.
  • Vanguard Group Inc. and Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. also raised their stakes, with Vanguard increasing its holdings by 0.6% and Charles Schwab by 144.6%, highlighting strong institutional interest in Merck.
  • Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 4.0% dividend yield, which will be paid on October 7th to investors of record on September 15th.
  • Looking to export and analyze Merck & Co., Inc. data? Unlock 5 Weeks of MarketBeat All Access for Just $5. Claim Your Limited-Time Discount.

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 20.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,376 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Petros Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $5,269,000. Finally, Stamos Capital Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. now owns 123,680 shares of the company's stock worth $12,304,000 after buying an additional 29,500 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3%

MRK traded up $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.29. 7,849,343 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,137,868. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $80.88 and its 200 day moving average is $83.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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