Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by RFG Advisory LLC

RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 90.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,569 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,274 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 438.7% in the 1st quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,390 shares of the company's stock worth $2,369,000 after buying an additional 21,491 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 89,760 shares of the company's stock worth $8,057,000 after buying an additional 21,038 shares during the period. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 19,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,772,000 after buying an additional 3,281 shares during the period. Towerpoint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. Towerpoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the company's stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the period. Finally, Eldred Rock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC now owns 113,474 shares of the company's stock worth $10,163,000 after buying an additional 10,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,998,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,632,094. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.29. 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 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.