Procyon Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,616 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,108 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Veracity Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 4,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Coco Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Coco Enterprises LLC now owns 7,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advantage Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. now owns 14,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 76.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Atlantic Securities lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. Barclays raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.75.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 22.52%. The firm had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.03%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.53, for a total value of $1,865,788.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,372,296.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $15,425,708.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.53, for a total value of $1,865,788.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,372,296.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 488,258 shares of company stock valued at $56,481,018. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.
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