Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Peterson Wealth Services

Peterson Wealth Services grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,384 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $398,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,046,000. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 101.3% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,840,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,121,000 after purchasing an additional 192,129 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.0%

NYSE:MRK traded up $2.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,556,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,484,123. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $128.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.37 and a 200-day moving average of $85.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released 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 company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

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.