Fluent Financial LLC Has $1.19 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fluent Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 218.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,598 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,584 shares during the period. Fluent Financial LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company's stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company's stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded down $0.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $117.87. The company had a trading volume of 8,576,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,621,607. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $298.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given 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 payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.