Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Increased by Spirepoint Private Client LLC

Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,852 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,409 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $80.15 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

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.