Simplicity Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 991.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,394 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,350,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,990,000. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

MRK stock opened at $79.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.69. The firm has a market cap of $199.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current 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 given 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 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated 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. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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.