Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $30.94 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 344,702 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,744 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $80.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,734,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,256,132. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $79.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during 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 revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.