Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Acquires 5,175 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2%, owning a total of 240,909 shares worth approximately $21.62 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently raised their holdings in Merck, with notable increases from Geode Capital Management LLC and Northern Trust Corp, contributing to institutional investors owning over 76% of the stock.
• Merck's recent quarterly results showed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates, but the company has also announced a decrease in the consensus target price to $108.69 after various analysts issued mixed ratings.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,909 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,175 shares during the quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated 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. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.41 on Friday, reaching $78.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,170,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,814,231. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.