Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Acquires 635 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,741 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Saiph Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Tilson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30.

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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

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.