Tilson Financial Group Inc. Acquires 132 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Tilson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,965 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Tilson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 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. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $80.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.18. The firm has a market cap of $203.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm 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 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.