First Merchants Corp Sells 3,509 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First Merchants Corp decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 34.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,719 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,509 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 662,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,422,000 after purchasing an additional 76,619 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 16,767 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,505,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 11,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 6,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Baugh & Associates LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 60,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,195,000 after acquiring an additional 10,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

MRK opened at $78.93 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.73. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $130.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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