Childress Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Childress Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 675 shares during the quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $79.24 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. 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 50-day moving average price is $78.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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