Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Acquires 20,833 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 35.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,551 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,833 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.5% of Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.35. 12,746,864 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,320,132. 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. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $129.93. The company has a market cap of $204.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.77.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

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.