Inscription Capital LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 37,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,379,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

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 shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MRK opened at $80.97 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company's fifty day moving average is $78.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.96. The firm has a market cap of $203.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective 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 reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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