Huber Capital Management LLC Has $1.89 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Huber Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,100 shares during the period. Huber Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after buying an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627,923 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $724,776,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,331,676,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $117.16 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $117.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.74 billion, a PE ratio of 130.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

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.