Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Boosted by Jacobs & Co. CA

Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,230 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $4,949,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% during the first quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 110,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,891,000 after purchasing an additional 12,128 shares during the last quarter. Cacti Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the first quarter. Cacti Asset Management LLC now owns 647,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,758,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 153,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,762,000 after purchasing an additional 28,064 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $76.17 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.95. The company has a market cap of $191.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.