DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $481 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,390,606 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,306 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.9% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.21% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $480,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.35. 12,746,864 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,289,934. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $129.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.77.

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. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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, 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 yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was 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 directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.