Nadler Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nadler Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,783 shares of the company’s stock after selling 996 shares during the quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MRK opened at $78.94 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $132.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.88. The firm has a market cap of $198.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. 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 issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

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.