Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,861 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,515 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Wealth Services grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 14,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $76.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.58. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $193.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.