Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Decreased by Atlas Private Wealth Advisors

Atlas Private Wealth Advisors decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 37.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,398 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,134 shares during the period. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.68. 14,549,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,873,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $205.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.20. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut 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 Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.