Calamos Advisors LLC Acquires 6,964 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Calamos Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 934,413 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,964 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.5% of Calamos Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $115,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 24,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $116.60. 8,368,151 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,672,231. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.56, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.