Portside Wealth Group LLC Has $2.01 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 25.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,204 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,142 shares during the quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $77.60. 13,974,301 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,662,190. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $79.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

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.