Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC Buys 5,883 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 15.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,922 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,883 shares during the period. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after buying an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.83 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.35. 5,137,720 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,416,336. The company has a market cap of $206.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $129.03. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $79.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

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.