Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 447,663 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,080 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 2.7% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $40,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 166,895 shares of the company's stock worth $16,603,000 after buying an additional 19,719 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,479 shares of the company's stock worth $1,540,000 after buying an additional 4,373 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 323,526 shares of the company's stock worth $32,184,000 after buying an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.42 on Friday, hitting $80.97. 7,734,538 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,256,132. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. 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. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $129.93. 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 released 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 analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.