Aigen Investment Management LP Decreases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 65.7%, holding 15,064 shares valued at approximately $1.35 million.
• Merck reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenues of $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a yield of 4.0%, to be paid on October 7th.

Aigen Investment Management LP trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 65.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,064 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,834 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock worth $474,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock worth $388,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289,516 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.29. 7,849,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,137,868. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $80.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated 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. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target 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 given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

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.