Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $688,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,309,000 after purchasing an additional 18,775 shares during the period. Element Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock worth $10,229,000 after purchasing an additional 25,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.05 on Friday, hitting $79.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,825,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,049,491. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.