Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Reduced by First Western Trust Bank

First Western Trust Bank reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,346 shares during the quarter. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $760,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $80.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $201.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.03. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.44.

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.