Trustco Bank Corp N Y Has $937,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trustco Bank Corp N Y decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 627 shares during the period. Trustco Bank Corp N Y’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $365,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 68,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,837,000 after buying an additional 18,685 shares in the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 626,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after purchasing an additional 13,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $76.08 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $191.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.