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

Cwm LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 631,814 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,544 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $56,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $398,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $2,754,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 316,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,480,000 after acquiring an additional 6,740 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $83.35 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $129.03. The stock has a market cap of $209.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.08 and a 200 day moving average of $86.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by 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.