6,895 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $854,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.5% of MQS Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 316.0% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 38,172 shares of the company's stock worth $4,726,000 after acquiring an additional 28,997 shares in the last quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.0% during the second quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,245 shares of the company's stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the second quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 18,955 shares of the company's stock worth $2,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Mittelman Wealth Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.8% during the second quarter. Mittelman Wealth Management now owns 5,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 7,893 shares of the company's stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $117.23. 9,562,444 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,675,977. The firm has a market cap of $296.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $118.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast 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 declared 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. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.