IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 531,758 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,909 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $47,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.42 on Friday, reaching $80.97. The company had a trading volume of 7,734,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,256,132. The firm has a market cap of $203.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $79.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.05. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.