Community Financial Services Group LLC Has $6.29 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,085 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,694 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.4% of Community Financial Services Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Community Financial Services Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,193 shares of the company's stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 13,602 shares of the company's stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the company's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Finally, Partners Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald cut 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 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $80.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $201.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $78.91 and its 200-day moving average is $88.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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