AR Asset Management Inc. Has $13.96 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AR Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 155,470 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,300 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 3.2% of AR Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. AR Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 53,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the period. American Investment Services Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 294.4% in the 1st quarter. American Investment Services Inc. now owns 14,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 10,951 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 15,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 16,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Grove Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 179,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,086,000 after purchasing an additional 27,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:MRK opened at $84.35 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $81.18 and its 200-day moving average is $83.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30. The firm has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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.