Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 705,128 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 86,651 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.0% of Financial Counselors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $63,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated 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. 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $80.89. 15,774,999 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,292,084. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $129.93. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 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.