Aspetuck Financial Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Aspetuck Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 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 worth $10,229,000 after purchasing an additional 25,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 45,306 shares of the company's stock worth $4,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $78.94. 13,735,255 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,119,479. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $133.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated 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 Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company 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.