Bremer Bank National Association Has $615,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bremer Bank National Association reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 86.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,850 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,847 shares during the period. Bremer Bank National Association's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Napatree Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock worth $5,601,000 after purchasing an additional 8,461 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after purchasing an additional 22,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 632,355 shares of the company's stock worth $62,907,000 after purchasing an additional 10,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of MRK traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.28. The stock had a trading volume of 12,998,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,632,095. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.29. The firm has a market cap of $196.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.