Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Has $8.48 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,473 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,986 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Absher Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% in the first quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,882 shares of the company's stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the first quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 2,379 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 45,319 shares of the company's stock worth $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the first quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 216,100 shares of the company's stock worth $19,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 109.4% in the first quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 12,348 shares of the company's stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,450 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in 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. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,825,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,041,534. The company has a market capitalization of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $78.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors 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 yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.