Greenleaf Trust Sells 6,548 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Greenleaf Trust lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,886 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,548 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed 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. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:MRK opened at $81.35 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $129.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.09 and a 200 day moving average of $86.73. The firm has a market cap of $204.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

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.

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