Colonial River Investments LLC Has $268,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Colonial River Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 60.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,987 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,639 shares during the period. Colonial River Investments LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $78.97. 2,719,831 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,115,731. The stock's fifty day moving average is $79.06 and its 200 day moving average is $87.55. The stock has a market cap of $198.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. 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 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.