Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Peoples Bank OH

Peoples Bank OH trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 515 shares during the quarter. Peoples Bank OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

MRK opened at $83.58 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.06 and a 200-day moving average of $86.71. The stock has a market cap of $209.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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. 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.