Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,225,129 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,347 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $161,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $454,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 26,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 86,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,421 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 4,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 211.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 118,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,223,000 after purchasing an additional 80,547 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $129.79 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $328.73 billion, a PE ratio of 144.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.96.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. 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. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

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.