Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC Has $729,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 31.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,892 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,416 shares during the quarter. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $729,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of MRK opened at $117.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.07, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.63 and a 200-day moving average of $124.50.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

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.