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.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MRK
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
(
Free Report)
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.
Read More

Before you consider Merck & Co., Inc., you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Merck & Co., Inc. wasn't on the list.
While Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's guide to investing in 5G and which 5G stocks show the most promise.
Get This Free Report