Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 9,450 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 91,855 shares valued at approximately $8.33 million.
• Merck reported $2.22 earnings per share for its latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while its revenue was down 1.6% year-over-year at $15.53 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.24 with a yield of 3.85%.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,855 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,450 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $2.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.20. The company had a trading volume of 18,256,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,835,569. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.99. 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 company has a market capitalization of $203.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $123.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.