GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9,991.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,289,516 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $388,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,350,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 954,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,706,000 after purchasing an additional 179,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 55,838 shares of the company's stock worth $5,555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MRK traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.86. 20,636,762 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,594,132. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $193.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $80.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.58. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" 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.