Talbot Financial LLC Buys 5,038 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Talbot Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,464 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,038 shares during the period. Talbot Financial LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Napatree Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,601,000 after acquiring an additional 8,461 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after acquiring an additional 22,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 632,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,907,000 after acquiring an additional 10,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $76.22. 11,264,566 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,588,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock's fifty day moving average is $80.20 and its 200 day moving average is $90.53. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $191.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given 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 4.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

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.