Apollon Wealth Management LLC Sells 5,068 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,647 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,068 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.36 on Monday, reaching $83.72. The stock had a trading volume of 10,367,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,206,694. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $210.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $129.03.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company'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 sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.