Integrated Advisors Network LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Integrated Advisors Network LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,214 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,808 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 926,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,176,000 after acquiring an additional 38,149 shares during the period. Gibson Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 3,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 19,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the period. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $80.26 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.86 and a 200-day moving average of $89.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid 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 4.04%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.