Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 98,431 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 92.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,394 shares of the company's stock after selling 98,431 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,309,000 after acquiring an additional 18,775 shares during the last quarter. Element Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock worth $10,229,000 after buying an additional 25,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.24. The company had a trading volume of 33,825,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,041,534. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $78.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.81 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

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.