Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,795 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,268 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.8% of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $78.93 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93. The company's 50 day moving average is $79.06 and its 200 day moving average is $87.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $198.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) 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 net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.