Gibson Capital LLC Purchases 190 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gibson Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,479 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Gibson Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $79.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.98 and its 200 day moving average is $89.69. The company has a market cap of $199.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

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.