Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Nadler Financial Group Inc.

Nadler Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,783 shares of the company’s stock after selling 996 shares during the quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 16,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 11,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 6,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.9% during the first quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 60,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,195,000 after acquiring an additional 10,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.1% during the first quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’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 owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $78.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.88. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $132.29. The company has a market cap of $198.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. 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 report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of 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 assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.