Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,651 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 6,421 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $876,000. Finally, Neumann Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Neumann Capital Management LLC now owns 4,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of MRK stock traded up $3.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $119.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,350,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,565,877. The stock has a market cap of $301.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.67, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $120.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 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, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.