Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 29,300 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Employees Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 745,324 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,300 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $74,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,601,000 after buying an additional 8,461 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after buying an additional 22,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.24 on Thursday, reaching $75.94. The stock had a trading volume of 5,412,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,966,979. The company has a market capitalization of $190.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.95.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.