Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7%, owning 941,399 shares worth $84.5 million after selling 67,564 shares in Q1.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which represents a 4.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" among analysts, with an average price target of $107.44.

Blair William & Co. IL cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 941,399 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,564 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $84,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,143,571,000 after buying an additional 3,791,737 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,375,974 shares of the company's stock worth $1,828,040,000 after buying an additional 1,742,313 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,452,240 shares of the company's stock worth $1,537,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,847,934 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8%

MRK stock traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.49. 2,768,540 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,777,637. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.63%. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.