Keeler Thomas Management LLC Has $625,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Keeler Thomas Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,606 shares during the period. Keeler Thomas Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $79.41 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.25. 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. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.