Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Sells 6,377 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,214 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,377 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.35. 9,716,130 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,445,339. The company has a market cap of $209.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $79.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.03.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Citigroup reaffirmed 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 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

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.