Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA Lowers Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 44.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 805,555 shares of the company's stock after selling 647,936 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.9% of Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $72,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 14,805 shares of the company's stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Weinberger Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company's stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,549,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,851,208. The stock has a market cap of $205.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company's 50 day moving average is $78.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.30.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.