Lynch Asset Management Inc. Purchases 800 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Lynch Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,800 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Lynch Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the fourth 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. Weinberger Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $81.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.44. The firm has a market cap of $205.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

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.