Pure Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 1,186 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,774 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $79.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.05. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $133.43. The company has a market cap of $200.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.