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

Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 58.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,714 shares during the quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $80.26 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.86 and a 200 day moving average of $89.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.