Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 20.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 618,026 shares of the company's stock after selling 158,346 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $55,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 valued at $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position 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 valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:MRK traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $81.74. The company had a trading volume of 13,147,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,813,022. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.86 and a 200 day moving average of $89.57. The company has a market cap of $205.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.