Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 320,847 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,236 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $398,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $88,000. Washington Trust Bank grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 136,546 shares of the company's stock worth $13,584,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 200,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,898,000 after buying an additional 47,355 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.97. 11,654,241 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,503,365. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $128.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $200.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.