Valley National Advisers Inc. Has $1.77 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 86.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,691 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,111 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $78.93 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $198.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $129.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. 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.

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