Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,107 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.1% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $117.23 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.92 billion, a PE ratio of 130.26, 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 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. The company’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 disclosed 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 yield of 2.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.