Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.3%, acquiring an additional 20,302 shares, bringing their total to 199,227 shares valued at approximately $17.88 million.
• Merck's dividend of $0.81 per share will be paid on October 7th, with a dividend yield of 4.1%, and a payout ratio of 49.92%.
• Several analysts have changed their ratings on Merck, with Cantor Fitzgerald downgrading it to a "cautious" rating, while Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating with a target price of $115.00 per share.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 199,227 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,302 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advyzon Investment Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the first quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 8,680 shares of the company's stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 160.7% in the 1st quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 7,255 shares of the company's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 4,472 shares during the last quarter. Wills Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $2,945,000. Ruffer LLP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 90,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,143,000 after purchasing an additional 18,055 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 8,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $80.29. 10,826,251 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,582,423. The firm has a market cap of $200.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.