ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,115 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,766 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $77.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,778,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,661,448. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company's fifty day moving average is $79.53 and its 200-day moving average is $90.21. The company has a market capitalization of $194.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

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.