Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Purchases 6,535 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 54,681 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,535 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.3% of Plimoth Trust Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.05 on Friday, hitting $79.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,825,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,060,298. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.