Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 39.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,845 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,820 shares during the quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $79.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $199.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. 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 announced 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

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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