Hartford Financial Management Inc. Sells 353 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,745 shares of the company’s stock after selling 353 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $79.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.