Conscious Wealth Investments LLC Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Conscious Wealth Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,381 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 2.1% of Conscious Wealth Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised 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 worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.5 %

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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.