Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,562 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,148 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $39,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $118.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,876,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,613,569. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.41. The company has a market cap of $300.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “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.