Cullen Investment Group LTD. Acquires 12,128 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,189 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,128 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.5% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,350,000. Orca Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $759,000. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,572 shares of the company's stock worth $2,544,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE MRK traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.86. 20,636,762 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,616,357. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $193.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

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.