Synergy Asset Management LLC Has $3.13 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Synergy Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 82.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,822 shares of the company's stock after selling 161,639 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,309,000 after acquiring an additional 18,775 shares in the last quarter. Element Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,229,000 after acquiring an additional 25,997 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $80.15. The company had a trading volume of 18,548,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,063,576. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $201.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.32. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set 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 lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.