Capital Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 336,947 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,371 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,350,000. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 4,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $2,990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE MRK opened at $78.95 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $79.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. 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 firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated 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. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.

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