Summit Financial Strategies Inc. Has $669,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Summit Financial Strategies Inc. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Summit Financial Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.8% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 17,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,000 after buying an additional 10,658 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 18,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,008,000 after buying an additional 7,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curran Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $113.67. 10,102,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,717,050. The firm has a market cap of $287.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $123.83 and its 200 day moving average is $126.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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, July 31st. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.