Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Sells 1,993 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,017 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,993 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $26,350,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:MRK opened at $77.07 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $193.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.