Powers Advisory Group LLC Has $261,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Powers Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,907 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.