World Equity Group Inc. Sells 4,745 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

World Equity Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,295 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,745 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.24. The stock had a trading volume of 33,825,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,041,534. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $78.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. 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 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.