Simmons Bank Has $6.68 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Simmons Bank reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,405 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,728 shares during the period. Simmons Bank's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One 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, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $80.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $203.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50-day moving average is $79.20 and its 200-day moving average is $87.05. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $129.93. 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 results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company 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 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.