Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors Has $2.53 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,382 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,082 shares during the quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted 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 worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of 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 given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $199.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.85 and a 200-day moving average of $88.82. 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 one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.