Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by GoalVest Advisory LLC

GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 42.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,287 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,256 shares during the quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Napatree Capital LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,601,000 after purchasing an additional 8,461 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after acquiring an additional 22,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 632,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,907,000 after buying an additional 10,332 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.46 on Friday, hitting $76.86. The stock had a trading volume of 20,636,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,616,358. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $193.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.