Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Shepherd Financial Partners LLC

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,945 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,461 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (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. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. 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. 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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