Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 37,205 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.5% in the first quarter, now owning 202,547 shares valued at approximately $18.18 million.
• Multiple research analysts have revised their ratings on Merck, with Cantor Fitzgerald downgrading it to a "cautious" rating, while Guggenheim set a target price of $115.00 and others decreased their price targets.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, amounting to an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 4.0%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,547 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,205 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.60 on Monday, reaching $80.09. The company had a trading volume of 8,209,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,245,771. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.30. The business's 50-day moving average is $80.82 and its 200 day moving average is $83.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.