Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,511 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,760 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.8% of Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

MRK opened at $81.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $205.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.11.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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