Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Has $331,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,684 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $331,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $82.36 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $129.93. The company has a market capitalization of $206.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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, Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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 issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.