Compass Capital Management Inc. Has $53.72 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Compass Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 598,498 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 111,151 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 3.5% of Compass Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Compass Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $53,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company's stock worth $7,309,000 after acquiring an additional 18,775 shares in the last quarter. Element Wealth LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $79.26. The company had a trading volume of 21,846,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,930,177. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.90 and a 200 day moving average of $88.89. 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 has a market cap of $199.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

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.