Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,971 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,224 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.8% of Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,350,000. First Merchants Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 10,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,809,000 after purchasing an additional 14,664 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $205.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.20. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.