Eagle Global Advisors LLC Has $14.08 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Eagle Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8%, holding a total of 156,806 shares valued at approximately $14.08 million after acquiring additional shares during the first quarter.
• Merck reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates by $0.10, with a total revenue of $15.81 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.0%, which will be paid out on October 7th to investors of record as of September 15th.

Eagle Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,806 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,182 shares during the period. Eagle Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock worth $5,118,000 after buying an additional 6,850 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.29. 7,849,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,137,868. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.72. The firm has a market cap of $200.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.