Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK is Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s 6th Largest Position

Edgar Lomax Co. VA boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 736,620 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 105,035 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 4.1% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $66,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:MRK opened at $84.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $210.69 billion, a PE 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.