Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Penserra Capital Management LLC

Penserra Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 74.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,221 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,314 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE MRK traded down $0.67 on Friday, reaching $83.35. 9,716,130 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,445,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.40. The company has a market cap of $209.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $129.03.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.