GQG Partners LLC Has $4.56 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• GQG Partners LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3%, holding 50,782 shares worth approximately $4.56 million after selling 7,151 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have recently acquired new positions in Merck, indicating ongoing interest, as 76.07% of the company's stock is held by institutional investors.
• Merck & Co., Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share with a yield of 4.0%, set to be paid on October 7th to investors of record on September 15th.

GQG Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,782 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,151 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.35. 10,479,282 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,027,316. The stock has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.