Fiduciary Group LLC Has $1.94 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fiduciary Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,621 shares of the company’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently 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 report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $82.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $206.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors 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 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.