Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,632 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,083 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.7% of Transcend Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $24,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 85,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,532,000 after buying an additional 4,033 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $157,000. SRN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $817,000. Finally, Heritage Investors Management Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 305,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,402,000 after buying an additional 23,904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:MRK opened at $78.94 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $198.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $132.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.

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