Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Bank of Stockton

Bank of Stockton raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,502 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $79.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.05. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $133.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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.