Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN Sells 10,007 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 96.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 407 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,007 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $37,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares 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 raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $78.93. The stock had a trading volume of 60,171,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,155,543. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.93. The stock has a market cap of $198.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.64.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

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.