Empirical Finance LLC Acquires 3,067 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,929 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.7% of Empirical Finance LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MGB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the first quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,811,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Kades & Cheifetz LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $222,000. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 122,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 44,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $1.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $127.76. 6,995,135 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,405,176. The business’s 50 day moving average is $128.97 and its 200-day moving average is $125.43. The company has a market capitalization of $323.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38. 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 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.33.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.