PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,892 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,216 shares during the quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during 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 last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised 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 worth $293,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $80.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.96. The company has a market cap of $203.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.