Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $369,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 58.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,113 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,714 shares during the quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,350,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 13,498 shares of the company's stock worth $1,354,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $365,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MRK stock traded up $1.42 on Thursday, reaching $81.74. The company had a trading volume of 13,147,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,813,022. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $205.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.86 and a 200-day moving average of $89.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.