Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Strategic Blueprint LLC

Strategic Blueprint LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 74.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,581 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,192 shares during the quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in 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 buying an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock worth $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of MRK traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $80.89. 15,774,999 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,292,090. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $79.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.89. 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 firm has a market cap of $203.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 paid 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 yield of 4.01%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.