Community Bank N.A. Has $10.15 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Community Bank N.A. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,021 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,413 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.4% of Community Bank N.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth 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 period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of MRK opened at $78.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 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 has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

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

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” 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.