Huntleigh Advisors Inc. Sells 8,090 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Huntleigh Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 68.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,731 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,090 shares during the quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quilter Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company's stock worth $7,309,000 after acquiring an additional 18,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock worth $10,229,000 after buying an additional 25,997 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.97. 7,734,538 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,282,113. The company has a market capitalization of $203.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.93.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup restated 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. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

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.