Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Secure Asset Management LLC

Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 73.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,265 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,818 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.9% of Secure Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Secure Asset Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock worth $5,601,000 after acquiring an additional 8,461 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after acquiring an additional 22,775 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 632,355 shares of the company's stock worth $62,907,000 after purchasing an additional 10,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9%

MRK stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $77.60. 13,974,301 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,662,190. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $79.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.