Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5%, owning 491,517 shares valued at $44,119,000 after acquiring an additional 7,481 shares.
• Merck & Co., Inc. recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 3.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.
• The stock's current market capitalization stands at $210.69 billion, and it reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 491,517 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,481 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $44,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9%

MRK stock opened at $84.35 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $81.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.42. 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 fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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