Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 602,919 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.9%, selling 602,919 shares and holding 1,173,934 shares worth approximately $105 million.
• Merck's stock recently traded at $82.77, down 1.5%, with a market capitalization of $207.83 billion and a PE ratio of 12.05.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.91% for shareholders of record as of September 15th.

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 33.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,173,934 shares of the company's stock after selling 602,919 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $105,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,850 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.05. 6,196,153 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,844,169. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $198.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.80. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 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.