Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Bangor Savings Bank

Bangor Savings Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 549 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610,800 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,463 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $99.72 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.