Deutsche Bank AG Sells 74,011 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4%, selling 74,011 shares, and now holds approximately 19.17 million shares of the company.
• Merck's stock has a current market capitalization of $199.4 billion, with a recent dividend of $0.81 per share yielding an annualized 4.1%.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their holdings in Merck, with Semus Wealth Partners boosting their stake by 8.2% in the first quarter.

Deutsche Bank AG lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,172,446 shares of the company's stock after selling 74,011 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.7% of Deutsche Bank AG's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.76% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $1,720,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $80.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,495,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,628,607. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.86. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 0.85 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 posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.