Providence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 15,452 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.5%, bringing its total shares to 90,699, valued at approximately $8.14 million. This makes Merck the firm's 11th largest investment.
• Several analysts have adjusted their ratings and price targets for Merck, with the consensus rating now at "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.
• Merck's upcoming quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share signifies a 3.9% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.

Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,699 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,452 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.7% of Providence Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Providence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock worth $22,665,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock worth $2,143,571,000 after buying an additional 3,791,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,375,974 shares of the company's stock worth $1,828,040,000 after buying an additional 1,742,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.35. 10,479,282 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,960,206. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend 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.