Integrated Advisors Network LLC Sells 8,808 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Integrated Advisors Network LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,214 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,808 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the first quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 926,650 shares of the company's stock worth $83,176,000 after acquiring an additional 38,149 shares during the last quarter. Gibson Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the first quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 3,479 shares of the company's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,011 shares of the company's stock worth $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the first quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 19,849 shares of the company's stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $239,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

MRK stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.68. 14,549,536 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,851,208. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $205.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $78.93 and its 200-day moving average is $89.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

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.