Chelsea Counsel Co. Has $1.95 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Chelsea Counsel Co. cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,420 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,255 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.0% of Chelsea Counsel Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Chelsea Counsel Co.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $76.10. 5,006,225 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,547,562. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $191.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $80.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.