Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Montgomery Investment Management Inc.

Montgomery Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,823 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.6% of Montgomery Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Montgomery Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $897,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,967,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,659,000 after purchasing an additional 119,339 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 52,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares during the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 74,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.4% in the first quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 83,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,480,000 after acquiring an additional 9,870 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $83.77. 2,146,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,840,928. The company has a market cap of $210.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $128.73. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was 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 owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.