Griffin Asset Management Inc. Has $14.58 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 110,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 366 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.7% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $3,108,366,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,487,472,000 after buying an additional 5,196,914 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,966,029,000 after acquiring an additional 4,731,152 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 352.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 3,144,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,814,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,211 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29,914.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 2,410,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402,700 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.6 %

NYSE:MRK traded down $6.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $123.80. The stock had a trading volume of 57,055,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,215,418. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $129.32 and its 200-day moving average is $124.13. The company has a market cap of $313.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.