Boyar Asset Management Inc. Has $430,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Boyar Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 592 shares during the period. Boyar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,880,000 after buying an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $79.74 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.05. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $133.43. The company has a market capitalization of $200.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.