17 Capital Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• 17 Capital Partners LLC has reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.3%, now owning 6,705 shares valued at approximately $602,000.
• Brokerages have downgraded their price targets for Merck, with Wells Fargo lowering its target from $97.00 to $90.00 and Citigroup from $115.00 to $84.00.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%.

17 Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,705 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,788 shares during the period. 17 Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $84.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.18 and a 200-day moving average of $83.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.

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