TFC Financial Management Inc. Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

TFC Financial Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.5% of TFC Financial Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. TFC Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 85,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,532,000 after purchasing an additional 4,033 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,000. SRN Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $817,000. Finally, Heritage Investors Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 305,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,402,000 after acquiring an additional 23,904 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. 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 downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $78.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $198.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $132.29. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $79.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.