Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 35,986 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,370,426 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,986 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $136,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 4,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 2,868 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 100,130 shares of the company's stock worth $11,427,000 after purchasing an additional 8,143 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.41 on Monday, hitting $83.01. 26,768,428 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,162,434. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.09 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.06.

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.