Donoghue Forlines LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 15,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. F M Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Eley Financial Management Inc raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 14,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,433 shares during the period. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 29,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $80.73 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $80.74 and a 200-day moving average of $84.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.