Clark & Stuart Inc Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Clark & Stuart Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,555 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,223 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 7.1% of Clark & Stuart Inc's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Clark & Stuart Inc's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted 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 valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,309,000 after buying an additional 18,775 shares in the last quarter. Element Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC raised its position 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 valued at $10,229,000 after purchasing an additional 25,997 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research 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 research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $79.26 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 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.

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