Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Missouri Trust & Investment Co

Missouri Trust & Investment Co reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 58.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,035 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,694 shares during the quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.68. 14,549,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,873,348. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.93 and a 200 day moving average of $89.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $205.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

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.