Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Balentine LLC

Balentine LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,303 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $79.97 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $128.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company 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 company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.69.

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.