Phillips Wealth Planners LLC Sells 4,882 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 61.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,110 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,882 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% during the first quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 7,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,258,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 50,728 shares of the company's stock worth $4,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 145.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,073 shares of the company's stock worth $1,533,000 after buying an additional 10,113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $78.94. The stock had a trading volume of 13,735,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,119,442. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $133.43. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $79.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a 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 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Wall Street Zen cut 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 Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.