JGP Wealth Management LLC Has $1.03 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

JGP Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 146.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,830 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the first quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,108,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 6,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 36,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,515 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,492,983 shares of the company's stock worth $403,290,000 after acquiring an additional 29,663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $0.82 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.07. 18,124,801 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,610,943. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $193.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.