Csenge Advisory Group Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Csenge Advisory Group reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,424 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,810 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $79.97 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $128.73. The firm has a market cap of $200.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.37 and a 200 day moving average of $85.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MRK shares. 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report 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. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.69.

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.