AMI Asset Management Corp Has $723,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AMI Asset Management Corp trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,057 shares of the company’s stock after selling 159 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.74 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $133.43. The firm has a market cap of $200.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.05. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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 return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.