First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services Sells 33,470 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 68.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,603 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,470 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,350,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,990,000. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Transactions 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. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.99 on Tuesday, reaching $81.32. 13,242,716 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,755,310. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $204.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's 50 day moving average is $78.98 and its 200-day moving average is $89.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.