Allworth Financial LP Has $9.35 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,192 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,942 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,479 shares of the company's stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 34,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,462,000 after buying an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 26,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,644,000 after buying an additional 3,489 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.35. 9,716,130 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,445,339. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $129.03. The stock has a market cap of $209.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.69.

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.