Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Boosted by Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC

Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,966 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.86 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $293.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $118.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.57. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. 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.