Alta Advisers Ltd Acquires 4,200 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alta Advisers Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 50.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,584 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Quilter Plc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,229,000 after buying an additional 25,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

MRK stock traded down $1.44 during trading on Thursday, hitting $80.95. The company had a trading volume of 7,730,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,219,254. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.22 and a 200-day moving average of $87.32. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.93. The stock has a market cap of $203.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.