Allianz SE Cuts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Allianz SE reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.4%, now owning 103,076 shares worth approximately $9.25 million.
• Merck reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $15.81 billion for the quarter.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share on October 7th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%.

Allianz SE lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,076 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,744 shares during the quarter. Allianz SE's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $80.24. The stock had a trading volume of 4,436,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,749,902. The firm has a market cap of $201.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.