Greenwood Gearhart Inc. Acquires 23,355 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 20.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,005 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 23,355 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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, July 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $84.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,814,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,865,283. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $128.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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.