Transform Wealth LLC Has $2.25 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Transform Wealth LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 55.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,918 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,196 shares during the period. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dohj LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $809,000. Tarbox Family Office Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. now owns 4,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,757,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 32,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunburst Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 7,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $129.79. The stock had a trading volume of 11,923,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,147,509. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.73 billion, a PE ratio of 144.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.96.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.