Advisor Resource Council Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $888,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.24. 33,825,641 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,041,534. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm's 50 day moving average is $78.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm 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 company'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 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report 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 research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

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.