Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Sells 900 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,309,000 after buying an additional 18,775 shares during the last quarter. Element Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,229,000 after buying an additional 25,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

MRK opened at $80.97 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $203.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.97 and a 200-day moving average of $88.96.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

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.