Fortress Financial Group LLC Invests $254,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fortress Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after buying an additional 2,026,859 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This 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 accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $78.95 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.96. The company has a market capitalization of $198.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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. 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 the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded 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 note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.