Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,841 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,765 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,350,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 6,042 shares of the company's stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $249,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%
NYSE:MRK traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,825,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,049,493. 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 stock has a market cap of $198.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $78.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.67. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
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 issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Free Report)
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.
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