Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Keybank National Association OH

Keybank National Association OH reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 892,173 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,484 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $80,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quilter Plc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company's stock worth $7,309,000 after buying an additional 18,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock worth $10,229,000 after acquiring an additional 25,997 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other 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 owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.36. 16,050,121 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,210,933. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $79.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.35. The company has a market capitalization of $206.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 0.82 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. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

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.