Curat Global LLC Takes $822,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $822,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.0% of Curat Global LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the company's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 3,701 shares of the company's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Edge Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 124,019 shares of the company's stock worth $11,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Finally, Fjell Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Fjell Capital LLC now owns 12,321 shares of the company's stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued 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. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.95. 9,845,152 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,699,912. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.96. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.