Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Praxis Investment Management Inc.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,771 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,510 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE MRK traded down $0.05 on Friday, hitting $79.24. 33,825,641 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,041,534. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $198.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.43.

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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.