Davis Investment Partners LLC Buys Shares of 7,328 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Davis Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 15,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 30,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,696,000 after purchasing an additional 8,014 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,844,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 17,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 45,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after acquiring an additional 6,765 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $80.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $201.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.57. 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 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

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. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

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.