Oakworth Capital Inc. Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 102.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,754 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,622 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.3% of Oakworth Capital Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Oakworth Capital Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE MRK opened at $78.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $132.29. The firm has a market cap of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.

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