Tritonpoint Wealth LLC Has $9.02 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Tritonpoint Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,543 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,058 shares during the period. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $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 bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE MRK traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,549,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,851,208. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $78.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization 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.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid 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 3.97%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down 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 report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.