Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $25.17 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,446 shares of the company's stock after selling 80,987 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $25,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $78.94. The stock had a trading volume of 13,735,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,119,479. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $133.43. 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 market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.