Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Has $4.15 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2,316.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,187 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 44,276 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 14,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weinberger Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company's stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $1.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $81.55. 4,023,088 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,749,629. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $78.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.57.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued 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 3.97%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.