TFR Capital LLC. Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 17,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,718,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth 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. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 27,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 26,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 3,112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.93 on Friday, hitting $77.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,405,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,566,432. The company has a market capitalization of $194.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.78.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Securities downgraded 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.