Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Purchases 25,083 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 45.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,479 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,083 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.8% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $81.68 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $205.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.