41,919 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 41,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,190,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.4 %

MRK traded down $1.65 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $113.76. 3,038,375 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,625,978. The firm has a market capitalization of $288.13 billion, a PE ratio of 128.23, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.95.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.