Baugh & Associates LLC Acquires 10,094 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Baugh & Associates LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,897 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,094 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 2.6% of Baugh & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,072,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $133.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.06%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report 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 note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.