Generali Investments Management Co LLC Sells 11,087 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 36.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,362 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,087 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth 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 period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $26,350,000. Absher Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,229 shares of the company's stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 64.3% in the 4th quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 4,991 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7%

MRK traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.95. 9,845,152 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,699,912. The company has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $79.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis 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 presently 47.16%.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.