Wealthspire Advisors LLC Has $4.41 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Wealthspire Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10%, holding 49,095 shares valued at approximately $4.41 million at the end of the recent quarter.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.0%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a mixed outlook on Merck, with 12 hold ratings, 7 buy ratings, and an average target price of $107.44 for the stock.

Wealthspire Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,095 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,470 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company's stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $80.78 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The firm has a market cap of $202.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.52 and a 200-day moving average of $84.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, equities analysts predict 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, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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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