Wedmont Private Capital Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wedmont Private Capital cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 44.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,836 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,726 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $370,000. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.2% in the first quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 4,616 shares of the company's stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $78.95 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $79.13 and its 200 day moving average is $89.83. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. 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 company has a market capitalization of $198.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by 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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