Bourgeon Capital Management LLC Buys 2,321 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bourgeon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 150,158 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.9% of Bourgeon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8%

MRK opened at $76.22 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $191.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.