Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Midland Wealth Advisors LLC

Midland Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 888 shares during the period. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $78.95 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.83. 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 stock has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued 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 is currently 47.16%.

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.