Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 550 shares during the quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Coco Enterprises LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 76.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
MRK stock opened at $109.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $276.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.52 and a 1 year high of $119.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $113.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.86.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.03%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.83.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total value of $16,472,801.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 271,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total value of $16,472,801.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 271,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $6,355,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,685 shares in the company, valued at $3,770,831.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 488,258 shares of company stock valued at $56,481,018. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
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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