Archer Investment Corp Has $2.37 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Archer Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,400 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

MRK traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.26. 1,353,006 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,420,070. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $79.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.02. 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. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $128.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously 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 note 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 research note on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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