Exchange Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,858 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.3% of Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 77.2% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,328,000 after purchasing an additional 22,546 shares during the period. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,025,000 after acquiring an additional 5,795 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 102,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,639,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the third quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $127.72 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $129.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.