Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Harbor Investment Advisory LLC

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 38.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,809 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,576 shares during the quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other 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 transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.37 on Thursday, reaching $77.90. The stock had a trading volume of 5,471,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,629,255. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The business's 50-day moving average price is $79.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.21. The stock has a market cap of $195.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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.