Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 170,399 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,444 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.1% of Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,350,000. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 23,665 shares of the company's stock worth $2,354,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $662,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $79.24 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.52. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.

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