Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Avalon Trust Co

Key Points

• Avalon Trust Co reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 81.5% during the first quarter, leaving it with a holding worth approximately $3.17 million.
• Merck & Co. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 4.1% annually, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Merck's stock; the average rating is "Hold," with target prices ranging from $84.00 to $115.00.

Avalon Trust Co decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 81.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,292 shares of the company's stock after selling 155,796 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $398,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,084,000. PAX Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 4,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 7,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $80.78. 3,852,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,744,486. The stock has a market cap of $202.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $80.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.63%. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

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.