Bangor Savings Bank Sells 237 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bangor Savings Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,036 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 14,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $78.95 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.83. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

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.