Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 10,100 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Legato Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 39.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,403 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,100 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.82. 10,057,745 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,316,467. The company's 50-day moving average is $80.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $212.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $128.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

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.