Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Has $13.27 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 147,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,765 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $79.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.67. The firm has a market cap of $199.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a PEG 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. 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.