PSI Advisors LLC Sells 236 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

PSI Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $125.78. 8,404,345 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,808,079. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $318.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 898.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.09.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.