Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 64.4%, owning 186,529 shares worth approximately $16.7 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Merck reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, while revenue was $15.81 billion, slightly below consensus estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.0%, and a payout ratio of nearly 50%.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 64.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,529 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 73,045 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.2% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.35. 10,479,282 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,027,316. The company's 50-day moving average is $81.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The firm has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.