Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. Takes $249,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Napatree Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,601,000 after purchasing an additional 8,461 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,482,000 after purchasing an additional 22,775 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,477,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,546,000 after acquiring an additional 189,540 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.