Chicago Capital LLC Has $3.11 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,147 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.75 on Friday, reaching $117.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,577,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,621,607. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. 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 firm has a market cap of $298.47 billion, a PE ratio of 130.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.09.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

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.