Peak Asset Management LLC Has $1.65 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,327 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,880,000 after buying an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $212.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $80.03 and its 200-day moving average is $85.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $128.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.