Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.7% during the 1st quarter, selling 659,042 shares, leaving them with 923,260 shares valued at approximately $82.87 million.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with an EPS of $2.22, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16, but revenue decreased by 1.6% from the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, representing an annualized yield of 3.82%, with the payout scheduled for October 7th.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 41.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 923,260 shares of the company's stock after selling 659,042 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 2.0% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $82,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Tilson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.9%

MRK stock traded down $3.23 on Thursday, hitting $78.52. 8,302,411 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,830,848. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $197.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

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.