Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 92.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,744 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,643 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 14,805 shares of the company's stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued 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 downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $79.03. 5,428,157 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,603,805. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $198.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $79.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.