Stonegate Investment Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,870 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,216 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,350,000. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 23,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $662,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $78.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade 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 link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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