Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Has $1.90 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 82.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 99,340 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Retirement Guys Formula LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,753,000. Family Legacy Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the first quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 35,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% during the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 70,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,291,000 after purchasing an additional 7,694 shares during the last quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the first quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 34,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Embree Financial Group grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.2% during the first quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 5,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $80.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.