Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Bogart Wealth LLC

Bogart Wealth LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 90.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,640 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,616 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 38,750 shares of the company's stock worth $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 282.0% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 30,158 shares of the company's stock worth $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 22,263 shares in the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 42,807 shares of the company's stock worth $3,842,000 after purchasing an additional 3,685 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 8,763 shares of the company's stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,633,000 after buying an additional 11,454 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. Finally, 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. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

MRK opened at $83.72 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The business's 50 day moving average price is $79.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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