KPP Advisory Services LLC Has $1.08 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 41.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,075 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,516 shares during the quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.73 on Thursday, hitting $78.94. The stock had a trading volume of 13,735,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,119,483. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.05. 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 twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $133.43. The company has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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