Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. Has $2.14 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,309 shares of the company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.67. 10,102,341 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,717,050. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $287.90 billion, a PE ratio of 126.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s 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.