Alberta Investment Management Corp Acquires 45,841 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 131.5%, acquiring an additional 45,841 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 80,700 shares valued at $7.24 million.
• Merck reported $2.13 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations of $2.03, although revenue fell short of estimates at $15.81 billion compared to the forecast of $15.92 billion.
• Merck's board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 4.1%, with the payment scheduled for October 7th.

Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 131.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,700 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,841 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut 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 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 given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.27. The stock had a trading volume of 11,898,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,108,983. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $80.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The stock has a market cap of $199.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

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.