Winslow Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Winslow Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,481 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,131 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.7% of Winslow Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Winslow Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $129.03. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.69.

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.

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