GSA Capital Partners LLP Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45% during the first quarter, now holding 27,081 shares worth approximately $2.43 million.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.85%.
• Institutional investors hold 76.07% of Merck's shares, reflecting strong investment interest in the company.

GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 45.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,081 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,401 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.6%

MRK traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $79.38. 8,545,745 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,858,687. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. 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 is currently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.