Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Navalign LLC

Navalign LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,118 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the quarter. Navalign LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $80.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $203.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related 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 transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.