Sweeney & Michel LLC Makes New $564,000 Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sweeney & Michel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $564,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 14,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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 that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $76.86 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $80.20 and a 200-day moving average of $90.53. The company has a market capitalization of $193.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. 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.