Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Key Points

• Moors & Cabot Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.7%, owning 131,467 shares valued at approximately $11.8 million after selling 12,450 shares in the first quarter.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Merck, with Wells Fargo lowering theirs from $97 to $90, while Guggenheim reaffirmed a buy rating with a target price of $115.
• Merck & Co., Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.1% with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Moors & Cabot Inc. trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,467 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,450 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $398,000. Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 55,488 shares of the company's stock worth $5,565,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,218 shares of the company's stock worth $1,411,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 123,235 shares of the company's stock worth $12,259,000 after buying an additional 20,491 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 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 NYSE:MRK opened at $78.17 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.