Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Security National Bank

Security National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 59.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,789 shares during the period. Security National Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,309,000 after purchasing an additional 18,775 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,229,000 after purchasing an additional 25,997 shares during the period. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,507,000 after purchasing an additional 6,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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 note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $79.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $200.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.05. 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. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $133.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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. The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.