Bright Rock Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 26.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,000 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 2.7% of Bright Rock Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9%
MRK stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $80.97. The company had a trading volume of 12,565,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,872,132. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $203.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $78.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.96.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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