Sigma Planning Corp Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,750 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MRK opened at $83.72 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.19. The stock has a market cap of $210.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $129.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated 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. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.69.

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.