Trustco Bank Corp N Y Sells 627 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trustco Bank Corp N Y cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 627 shares during the period. Trustco Bank Corp N Y’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of MRK opened at $76.08 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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.