Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9% during the first quarter, selling 287,516 shares, and now holds approximately 0.12% of the company.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.1% based on a payout ratio of 49.92%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Merck shares, with Citigroup lowering its price target to $84 from $115, while Guggenheim maintains a "buy" rating with a price objective of $115.

Fayez Sarofim & Co decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,917,391 shares of the company's stock after selling 287,516 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned about 0.12% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $261,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,381,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,445,000 after acquiring an additional 295,758 shares during the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $362,000. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 40,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,048,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $79.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $80.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.25. The firm has a market cap of $199.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MRK shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.

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