Gibson Capital LLC Acquires 190 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gibson Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,479 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Gibson Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 19,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $239,000. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 175,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

MRK opened at $79.30 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.69. The stock has a market cap of $199.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.