Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Raleigh Capital Management Inc.

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 51.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,300 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,614 shares during the quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $80.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,774,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,292,084. 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's 50-day moving average is $79.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $129.93. The stock has a market cap of $203.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% 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.