CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 631,814 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,544 shares during the period. CWM LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $56,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.
Read Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
NYSE MRK traded down $0.67 on Friday, hitting $83.35. 9,716,130 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,445,339. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $79.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $129.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.16%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
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Free Report)
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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