Souders Financial Advisors Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Souders Financial Advisors lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 62.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,692 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,471 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $83.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,015,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,847,663. The company has a market capitalization of $210.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $128.73. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.52.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.