Kintegral Advisory LLC Has $6.05 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kintegral Advisory LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 32.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,799 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,761 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.9% of Kintegral Advisory LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Kintegral Advisory LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 47,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares during the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 531,758 shares of the company's stock worth $47,731,000 after purchasing an additional 42,909 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 92,798 shares of the company's stock worth $8,330,000 after purchasing an additional 11,394 shares during the period. Finally, MBA Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 4,543 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.42 on Friday, hitting $80.97. The company had a trading volume of 7,734,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,256,132. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $129.93. 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 company has a market cap of $203.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.05.

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 net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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 report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 note 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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.