Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Stack Financial Management Inc

Stack Financial Management Inc cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,784 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,556 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.7% of Stack Financial Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Stack Financial Management Inc's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $82.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,515,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,461,959. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $79.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.14. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $128.73. The company has a market capitalization of $207.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current 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 3.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

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.