Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Haven Private LLC

Key Points

• Haven Private LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 74.4%, selling 6,549 shares, leaving them with 2,248 shares valued at approximately $202,000.
• Numerous hedge funds have recently altered their positions in Merck, including new investments ranging from $27,000 to $44,000, resulting in institutional ownership of 76.07% of the company.
• Merck & Co., Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a payout ratio of 49.92% and a dividend yield of 4.1%.

Haven Private LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 74.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,248 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,549 shares during the period. Haven Private LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $398,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,084,000. PAX Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 4,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 7,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE MRK traded down $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.38. 4,436,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,749,902. The stock has a market cap of $201.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30.

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. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.