DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 37,306 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,390,606 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,306 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.9% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $480,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.31. 1,634,817 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,205,111. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’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 owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is 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.