Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Strong Tower Advisory Services

Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 52.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,002 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,598 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,350,000. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 27,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,716,000 after buying an additional 3,909 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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 business'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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $78.08. 3,941,897 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,623,076. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $196.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.