Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Sells 15,614 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,770 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,614 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.6% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $118.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,875,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,613,569. The stock has a market cap of $299.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $121.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.