HB Wealth Management LLC Buys 43,404 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.2% during the first quarter, owning 197,580 shares valued at approximately $17.7 million.
• Several analysts have downgraded Merck’s stock ratings recently, with Cantor Fitzgerald moving it from “overweight” to “cautious,” while Citigroup reduced its target price from $115 to $84.
• Merck has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.82%.

HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 28.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,580 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 43,404 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company's stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $82.67. 5,280,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,830,077. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company's 50 day moving average is $80.27 and its 200 day moving average is $84.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.30.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

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.