Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,324 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,348 shares during the quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Veracity Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 4,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Coco Enterprises LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Coco Enterprises LLC now owns 7,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advantage Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. now owns 14,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 76.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Get Merck & Co. Inc. alerts:

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $6,355,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,770,831.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $6,355,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,770,831.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $15,425,708.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 488,258 shares of company stock valued at $56,481,018. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Atlantic Securities boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $111.16 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $84.52 and a 52-week high of $119.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 22.52%. The firm had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.03%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Get Rating)

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.

Featured Articles

• Get a free research report on Merck & Co., Inc. from StockNews.com
• Smartsheet Investors’ Hasty Exit Can Be Your Gain
• Agilent Technologies Stock: Ready to Rise off the Floor
• Oilfield Services Growing Faster Than Wider Energy Sector
• La-Z-Boy Reclines To The Buy Zone As Industry Normalizes
• Five stocks we like better than Merck & Co., Inc.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Merck & Co. Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Merck & Co. Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.