Unified Investment Management Buys Shares of 9,491 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Unified Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $2.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $81.75. 21,796,417 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,192,927. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $129.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $79.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

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.