U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.95 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,888 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,154 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,880,000 after buying an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered 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 previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $84.33. 4,945,299 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,217,148. The company has a market capitalization of $211.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $129.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.06 and a 200 day moving average of $86.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

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.