Navellier & Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Navellier & Associates Inc. has reduced their position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 44.8%, now holding 8,149 shares valued at approximately $675,000.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds currently own 76.07% of Merck's stock, reflecting significant interest in the healthcare company.
• Merck's most recent earnings report revealed a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%, despite a 1.6% revenue decrease compared to the same quarter last year.

Navellier & Associates Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 44.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,149 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,604 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock worth $388,880,000 after buying an additional 4,289,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,872,444 shares of the company's stock worth $1,976,911,000 after buying an additional 3,823,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.67. 3,399,569 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,816,502. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $207.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.27 and a 200 day moving average of $84.98.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.