Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Buys 6,241 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 263,833 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,241 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $398,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 19,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.45. 11,515,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,461,959. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.14. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $128.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 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 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 for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.