Heartland Bank & Trust Co Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,770 shares of the company’s stock after selling 435 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Absher Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% in the first quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the first quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 2,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 45,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,068,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the first quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 216,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,397,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 109.4% in the first quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 12,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after buying an additional 6,450 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 that occurred 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 now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.