Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 30.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,760 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 21,038 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in 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. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.67 on Thursday, reaching $77.60. 13,974,301 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,662,188. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $79.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $194.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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 dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.