Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $10.64 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.3%, now holding shares worth $10.64 million.
• Merck's recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $2.13, exceeding analysts' estimates, while revenue fell short at $15.81 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding approximately 4.1%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,584 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,178 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,882,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,387,496. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The company has a market cap of $201.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 0.85 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 1.42. The firm's 50-day moving average is $80.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.03.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, research analysts predict 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. 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 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.