Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 8,288 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.0%, holding 18,405 shares valued at approximately $1.65 million.
• Merck's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analysts' estimates, although revenue fell slightly short at $15.81 billion.
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.0%, set to be paid on October 7th.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 31.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,405 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,288 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in 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. during the fourth quarter valued at about $398,000. DRW Securities LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 132.5% during the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 3,502 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,805,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $257,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

MRK traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.97. The stock had a trading volume of 3,129,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,584,054. The stock's 50 day moving average is $80.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $199.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.30.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reissued 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average 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.