Fifth Third Bancorp Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 680,395 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,238 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $61,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $81.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,147,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,813,022. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company's 50-day moving average is $78.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.