Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Acropolis Investment Management LLC

Acropolis Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,605 shares of the company’s stock after selling 591 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,350,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,415,000 after buying an additional 2,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $963,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $81.68 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.11. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve 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 firm has a market capitalization of $205.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.