Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 280,249 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,292 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $25,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th 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 position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $26,350,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $2,990,000. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:MRK opened at $79.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $78.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $199.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 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 value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.