Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Godsey & Gibb Inc.

Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,129 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,125 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in 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 Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,350,000. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 5,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 12,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $78.95. 9,845,152 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,699,912. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $79.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.96. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm'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 value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.