McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. Has $1.35 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 37.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,063 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quilter Plc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,309,000 after buying an additional 18,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,229,000 after purchasing an additional 25,997 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $80.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,774,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,292,090. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.93. The stock's 50-day moving average is $79.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.89. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.