Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board significantly reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.6%, selling over 1.4 million shares during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 1 million shares worth around $94 million.
• Merck reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, beating estimates, but had revenue of $15.81 billion, slightly below the expected $15.92 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.0% with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 57.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,048,898 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,423,239 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $94,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $82.77. The company had a trading volume of 10,210,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,551,396. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The stock has a market cap of $206.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.97 and a 200 day moving average of $83.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 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.