Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,730 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,241 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.5% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

MRK stock traded up $1.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.42. 6,958,006 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,564,545. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $194.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.