Kanawha Capital Management LLC Sells 3,334 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,745 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,334 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289,516 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business'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 value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.97. The company had a trading volume of 7,734,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,282,113. The firm has a market cap of $203.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. 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. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $129.93. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $79.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.97.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.