Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 216.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,096 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,017 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

MRK opened at $78.94 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $132.29. 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 of $79.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, 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. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% 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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