WBH Advisory Inc. Has $1.01 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• WBH Advisory Inc. reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.4% during the first quarter, now owning 11,254 shares worth approximately $1,010,000.
• Merck's stock has a current P/E ratio of 12.44 and opened at $80.73 on Friday, with a market capitalization of $201.65 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.0%, payable on October 7th to shareholders of record on September 15th.

WBH Advisory Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,254 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,248 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake 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. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,558 shares of the company's stock worth $2,922,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $80.09. The stock had a trading volume of 8,209,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,245,771. The firm has a market cap of $200.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $80.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

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.