Transform Wealth LLC Lowers Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Transform Wealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 85.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,324 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,354 shares during the quarter. Transform Wealth LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 13,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 475,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,706,000 after buying an additional 6,027 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $2,329,000. CX Institutional grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 555.7% during the first quarter. CX Institutional now owns 125,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,253,000 after buying an additional 106,247 shares during the period. Finally, Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the first quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 119,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,774,000 after buying an additional 2,304 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, 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. One investment 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. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.14 on Friday, reaching $81.68. The stock had a trading volume of 14,549,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,873,348. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $205.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $78.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio 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.