VCI Wealth Management LLC Sells 7,581 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

VCI Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 36.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,369 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,581 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quilter Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock worth $10,229,000 after purchasing an additional 25,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.0% during the first quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,927 shares of the company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $1.81 on Tuesday, hitting $81.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,791,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,454,545. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.70. The company has a market capitalization of $203.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $128.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was 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 available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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