Liberty One Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,522 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,275 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Stratos Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 147.4% in the first quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 112,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,053,000 after buying an additional 66,737 shares during the last quarter. Navalign LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the first quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 14,118 shares of the company's stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the first quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 5,189 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $11,504,000. Finally, Bank Hapoalim BM increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.6% during the first quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 26,754 shares of the company's stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 6,420 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business'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 transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.9%

NYSE:MRK traded up $2.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.74. The stock had a trading volume of 18,390,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,368,539. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.73. The company has a market capitalization of $210.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.