Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 58.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 543,592 shares of the company's stock after selling 757,134 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $48,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Weinberger Asset Management Inc raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.24. The company had a trading volume of 33,825,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,049,491. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $78.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.67.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.