Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $113.67. 10,102,341 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,717,050. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $287.90 billion, a PE ratio of 126.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $123.83 and its 200 day moving average is $126.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.