Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC

Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,397 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective 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 lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $77.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $193.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.75 and its 200-day moving average is $90.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. 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. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.20%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

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 dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.