Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Callan Family Office LLC

Key Points

• Callan Family Office LLC has reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 56.5%, now owning 22,619 shares valued at approximately $2,030,000.
• Merck's stock receives mixed ratings from analysts, with a recent downgrade from a "strong-buy" to "buy" and a target price adjustment from $115 to $84 by Citigroup.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 4.0%.

Callan Family Office LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 56.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,619 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,332 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.35. 10,479,282 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,027,316. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.18 and a 200-day moving average of $83.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.