Red Cedar Investment Management LLC Sells 10,004 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Red Cedar Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 32.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,092 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,004 shares during the period. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down 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 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.93 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $79.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $198.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 company earned $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

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.

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