MGO One Seven LLC Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

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MGO One Seven LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,435 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,588 shares during the quarter. MGO One Seven LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:MRK traded up $1.15 on Friday, reaching $79.27. The stock had a trading volume of 11,898,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,513,969. The company has a market cap of $199.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.38. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $80.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.63%. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. 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. 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. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.