Windward Capital Management Co. CA Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Windward Capital Management Co. CA lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,506 shares of the company’s stock after selling 816 shares during the period. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $117.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $119.93 and a 200 day moving average of $125.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $298.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.