Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Stratos Investment Management LLC

Stratos Investment Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 147.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,002 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 66,737 shares during the quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Navalign LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the first quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 14,118 shares of the company's stock worth $1,267,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the first quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 5,189 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $11,504,000. Bank Hapoalim BM grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.6% during the first quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 26,754 shares of the company's stock worth $2,401,000 after buying an additional 6,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.0% during the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 56,695 shares of the company's stock worth $5,089,000 after buying an additional 11,708 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:MRK opened at $80.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $203.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 0.84 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. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $79.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim restated 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, Citigroup restated 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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