Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Buys 7,288 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,008 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,288 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,479 shares of the company's stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 23,666 shares of the company's stock worth $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 97,982 shares of the company's stock worth $9,747,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,142,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, 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. 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, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of MRK stock traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $82.00. 4,367,972 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,257,893. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $129.93. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $79.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.77. The stock has a market cap of $205.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.