Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Has $452.83 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 21.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,044,840 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,414,814 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.20% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $452,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.57. 1,747,105 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,188,208. 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 firm has a market cap of $207.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $129.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

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.