Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 8,921 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 31.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,204 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,921 shares during the quarter. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.9%

NYSE:MRK traded up $2.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $83.74. 13,742,085 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,339,745. The firm has a market cap of $210.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $79.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.