Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 39.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,478 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,454 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,479 shares of the company's stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $398,000. one8zero8 LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $890,000. Finally, Ascent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of MRK traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $81.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,977,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,467,386. The stock has a market cap of $204.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 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 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $128.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $79.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.02.

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. The firm 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 previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.