Concord Wealth Partners Has $137,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Concord Wealth Partners decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 93.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,529 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,280 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $1.55 on Friday, hitting $79.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,654,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,503,365. The company has a market capitalization of $200.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $128.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.