Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Sells 192,512 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 68.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 86,826 shares of the company’s stock after selling 192,512 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE MRK opened at $80.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $201.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (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 price objective 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 report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.