Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases 10,298 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,248 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,298 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fountainhead AM LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 3,072 shares of the company's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 35,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,195,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the period. Brogan Financial Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $263,000. St. Louis Trust Co grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. St. Louis Trust Co now owns 15,488 shares of the company's stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 8,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.97. 11,654,241 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,503,365. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.79. The firm has a market cap of $200.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.83 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $128.73.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. 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 currently 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.