Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,305,255 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 95.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,674,845 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,305,255 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.1% of Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.11% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $240,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $398,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $88,000. Washington Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 136,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,584,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 200,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,898,000 after purchasing an additional 47,355 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded down $1.55 during 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 stock has a market cap of $200.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.37 and a 200 day moving average of $85.79. 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. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.