China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 6,850 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,566 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. now owns 79,551 shares of the company's stock worth $7,141,000 after acquiring an additional 20,833 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,779 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 250,008 shares of the company's stock worth $22,441,000 after acquiring an additional 7,288 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 138,872 shares of the company's stock worth $12,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,888 shares of the company's stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 7,154 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE MRK traded up $0.45 on Tuesday, reaching $81.35. 12,746,864 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,320,132. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.77. The company has a market cap of $204.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analyst estimates 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 revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut 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. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.