AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 730,918 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 89.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,498 shares of the company's stock after selling 730,918 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded 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 set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.69.

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 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.9%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.97. The stock had a trading volume of 11,654,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,503,365. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $128.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company 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 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given 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 4.05%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio 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.