Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Decreased by Bank of New Hampshire

Bank of New Hampshire cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 50.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,116 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,482 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $78.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $79.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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.

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