Connors Investor Services Inc. Lowers Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Connors Investor Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.6% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $117.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.77 billion, a PE ratio of 131.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.50. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.