July 18, 2016

BMO Downgraded Merck & Co. (MRK)


Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) was downgraded by BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

In other Merck & Co. news, insider Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of €57.49 ($63.18), for a total transaction of €1,724,700.00 ($1,895,274.73). Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 162,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately €9,322,060.99 ($10,244,023.07). The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth C. Frazier sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of €58.00 ($63.74), for a total transaction of €3,480,000.00 ($3,824,175.82). Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 554,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately €32,181,648 ($35,364,448.35). The disclosure for this sale can be found here.