Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Sells 161,076 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 70.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,262 shares of the company's stock after selling 161,076 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $84.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,718,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,373,801. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $211.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

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 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.