Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC Trims Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,574 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,572 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.2% of Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373 shares during the period. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 213.4% during the 4th quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,857 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,006.2% during the 4th quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 20,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 18,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,110,372 shares of the company's stock worth $117,279,000 after buying an additional 111,651 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $80.89. 15,774,999 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,292,090. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. 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 quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.