L.M. Kohn & Company Has $734,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

L.M. Kohn & Company reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Weinberger Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $79.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $199.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.