L.M. Kohn & Company Has $734,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

L.M. Kohn & Company reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $79.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 0.82 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 has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.