Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is Radnor Capital Management LLC’s Largest Position

Radnor Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 507,498 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,268 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 7.6% of Radnor Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Radnor Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $45,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 14,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE MRK opened at $78.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.13 and its 200-day moving average is $89.96.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.