Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by 1834 Investment Advisors Co.

Key Points

• 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9%, now owning over 70,000 shares valued at $6.29 million.
• Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock recently opened at $79.41 and is down 1.7%, with a market capitalization of $199.40 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, yielding 4.1%, payable on October 7th to stockholders of record.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,106 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock worth $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,558 shares of the company's stock worth $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $80.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,556,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,628,607. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

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.