First Community Trust NA Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First Community Trust NA lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,092 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Cowen upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $108.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Atlantic Securities upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total transaction of $9,431,686.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $535,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,734,300. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total transaction of $9,431,686.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,245 shares of company stock valued at $11,168,256. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $104.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.63 and a 1-year high of $115.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $264.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 43.47%. The business had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 51.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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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.