Perigon Wealth Management LLC Has $6.11 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,071 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,655 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $78.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $132.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.

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