Liberty One Investment Management LLC Acquires 6,275 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,522 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,275 shares during the quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

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

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 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 is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8%

MRK traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $83.35. 9,716,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,419,646. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $129.93. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.69.

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.