Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 45.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,279 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,891 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $78.36 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $196.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut 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 set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.

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