Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Reduced by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,194 shares of the company’s stock after selling 995 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during 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 for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. Equities 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

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.