Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $14.47 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 161,179 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,701 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.54 on Wednesday. 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. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.03. The stock has a market cap of $204.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.14 and its 200 day moving average is $86.16.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research 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, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.69.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’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 owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.