Moseley Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Moseley Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 444 shares during the quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Napatree Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,601,000 after buying an additional 8,461 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,482,000 after buying an additional 22,775 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,477,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,546,000 after purchasing an additional 189,540 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.69. The stock has a market cap of $199.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.