Principle Wealth Partners LLC Has $6.65 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,058 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,915 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 83,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,480,000 after purchasing an additional 9,870 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 106.3% during the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 63,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,218,000 after buying an additional 32,663 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Money Management increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 8,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 130.0% during the 1st quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 46,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 26,542 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $84.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,397,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,832,302. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.52. The company has a market cap of $210.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $128.73.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.