Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services

First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 68.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,603 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,470 shares during the quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 175,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the first quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.7% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 21,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $79.30 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.98 and a 200-day moving average of $89.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $199.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors 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 yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.