Associated Banc Corp Sells 24,902 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.2%, selling 24,902 shares and holding 119,812 shares valued at $10.75 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Merck recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, surpassing expectations by $0.10, while the company had a net margin of 25.79% and revenue of $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.1%, with the payment date scheduled for October 7th.

Associated Banc Corp lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,812 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,902 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $80.29. The company had a trading volume of 10,826,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,582,423. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $80.66 and its 200-day moving average is $84.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend 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 presently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

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.