Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC

Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,645 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,350,000. Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,530,000 after buying an additional 7,863 shares during the period. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $78.28 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $196.56 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.