CX Institutional Has $11.25 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 555.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,365 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,247 shares during the period. CX Institutional's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monarch Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the first quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 119,213 shares of the company's stock worth $10,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304 shares in the last quarter. Latko Wealth Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the first quarter. Latko Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 27,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,462,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,000 after buying an additional 2,712 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 926,650 shares of the company's stock worth $83,176,000 after acquiring an additional 38,149 shares during the period. Finally, Gibson Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 3,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $1.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.62. The company had a trading volume of 4,330,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,751,232. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.57. The stock has a market cap of $204.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.