Park Place Capital Corp Sells 2,679 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Park Place Capital Corp decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,679 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 24,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,288,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first 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 period. Hendershot Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.2 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $115.20. 16,562,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,345,653. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $291.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.00, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $126.76 and a 200 day moving average of $126.56. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

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.