Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Increased by Werlinich Asset Management LLC

Werlinich Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,120 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,530 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.6% of Werlinich Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Werlinich Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $78.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.83. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

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.