Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $133.13 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5%, owning approximately 1.48 million shares valued at $133.13 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03, despite a revenue of $15.81 billion which fell short of the consensus estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, representing a yield of 4.1%, payable to shareholders of record on September 15th.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,483,192 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,126 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $133,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the first quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 92,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 180,660 shares of the company's stock worth $16,216,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.1% in the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.3% in the first quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC now owns 145,581 shares of the company's stock worth $12,060,000 after buying an additional 26,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,617.5% in the first quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 59,065 shares of the company's stock worth $5,302,000 after buying an additional 55,626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. 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 research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on 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. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $79.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $199.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.41 and a 200 day moving average of $84.55.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 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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