Diversify Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 53.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,134 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,839 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.35 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $129.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.49. The company has a market cap of $209.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.

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