Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Symmetry Partners LLC

Symmetry Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,579 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,309,000 after buying an additional 18,775 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,229,000 after buying an additional 25,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related 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 transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 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 this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. 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 cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reissued 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given 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, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $80.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $201.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.16.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.