Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 211,541 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,985,822 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 211,541 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $178,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.35. 9,716,130 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,419,646. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $79.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.