Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Lifted by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 58.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,400 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,628 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.97. The company had a trading volume of 11,654,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,503,365. The company has a market cap of $200.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's fifty day moving average is $79.37 and its 200-day moving average is $85.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $128.73.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup restated 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. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.69.

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.