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

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 35.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,551 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,833 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.5% of Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.2%

MRK stock traded up $2.59 on Wednesday, reaching $83.96. 9,249,444 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,240,312. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $210.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reiterated 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. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

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.