Summit Trail Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,835 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,813 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of 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 issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.3%

MRK stock traded up $2.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.75. 21,796,417 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,192,929. The company has a market capitalization of $205.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $129.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.39.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date 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.