Bridges Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,743 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,743 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $243,000. Topsail Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 129.6% in the 1st quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 2,746 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 211.7% in the 1st quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 43,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,913,000 after buying an additional 29,612 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $83.16. 3,667,094 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,283,493. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.09 and a 200 day moving average of $86.73. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $129.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously 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 two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.