5,100 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Lesa Sroufe & Co

Lesa Sroufe & Co acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company's stock worth $7,309,000 after purchasing an additional 18,775 shares in the last quarter. Element Wealth LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock worth $10,229,000 after acquiring an additional 25,997 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $80.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $203.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $78.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.

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