AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,937 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $81.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.77. The company has a market cap of $205.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.