OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC Makes New $336,000 Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC acquired 3,739 shares of Merck & Co., Inc., valued at approximately $336,000, marking a new stake in the company as reported in their recent 13F filing.
• Institutional investors currently own 76.07% of Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• Merck & Co., Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, with a yield of 3.9%, set to be paid on October 7th to shareholders of record by September 15th.

OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $398,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 111,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,169,000 after purchasing an additional 41,947 shares during the period. Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 410,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,859,000 after purchasing an additional 16,837 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $84.35. The stock had a trading volume of 10,479,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,027,316. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.42. The company has a market capitalization of $210.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. 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. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given 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 yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

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.