Chilton Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Chilton Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 60.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,541 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,926 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $80.89. 15,774,999 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,292,090. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $129.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.20 and a 200 day moving average of $86.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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.