Gemmer Asset Management LLC Purchases 676 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gemmer Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,616 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Gemmer Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peterson Wealth Services grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 14,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $78.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.96. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $198.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In other 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 shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.