Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 564,884 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,260 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.8% of Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $56,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company's stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $2.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $98.00. 15,879,862 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. The business's fifty day moving average is $100.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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.