Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stake Boosted by M. Kulyk & Associates LLC

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,661 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,216 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.5% of M. Kulyk & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quilter Plc boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock worth $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock worth $10,229,000 after purchasing an additional 25,997 shares during the period. Finally, Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,927 shares of the company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.24 on Thursday, reaching $84.22. The stock had a trading volume of 8,009,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,884,091. The company has a market cap of $211.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 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. The firm's fifty day moving average is $79.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.52. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. 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 reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.