Rockland Trust Co. Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 493,234 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,223 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.2% of Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $44,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,350,000. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,346,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,388 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $81.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.