Meridian Wealth Management LLC Sells 7,957 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management LLC has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.2%, selling 7,957 shares, which leaves them with a total of 70,393 shares valued at approximately $6.3 million.
• Merck & Co. recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.03, but revenue fell slightly short at $15.81 billion against estimates of $15.92 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 4.0%, with the payment date set for October 7th.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,393 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,957 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, reaching $80.29. The stock had a trading volume of 7,849,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,137,868. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The business's 50-day moving average price is $80.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.72. The stock has a market cap of $200.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.