Leavell Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,744 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,901 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.35. 9,716,130 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,419,646. The business's 50-day moving average price is $79.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.49. 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. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93. The company has a market capitalization 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.