M Holdings Securities Inc. Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• M Holdings Securities Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.6%, acquiring an additional 8,253 shares to reach a total of 30,211 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 3.8% yield with an ex-dividend date set for September 15th.
• Several analysts have revisited their ratings and price targets for Merck, with Citigroup lowering its target from $115.00 to $84.00, reflecting a cautious outlook for the company's stock.

M Holdings Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 37.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,211 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,253 shares during the quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.35 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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