Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stake Raised by Woodstock Corp

Woodstock Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,350 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.1% of Woodstock Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,341,000 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. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 4,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 581,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,152,000 after buying an additional 32,543 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 146.9% during the 1st quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 6,830 shares during the period. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,108,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $76.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $193.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.58. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. On average, research 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 paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.