LSV Asset Management Sells 282,560 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9%, owning now 5.47 million shares worth approximately $490.58 million.
• Merck & Co., Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.1% with a payout ratio of almost 50%.
• Despite a revenue of $15.81 billion in its latest quarter, Merck's earnings per share surpassed estimates, reporting $2.13 against a consensus of $2.03.

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,465,430 shares of the company's stock after selling 282,560 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.2% of LSV Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.22% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $490,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. IFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 19,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,778,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 20,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,828,000 after buying an additional 1,632 shares in the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 46,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,172,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 13,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,244,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.93. The company had a trading volume of 13,378,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,108,983. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

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.