PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in Q1, selling 255,900 shares and now owning 0.31% of the company worth approximately $704 million.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 4.1%.
• After beating earnings expectations with a report of $2.13 EPS in its last quarterly earnings, Merck's stock is currently rated as "Hold" by analysts with an average target price of $107.44.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,844,171 shares of the company's stock after selling 255,900 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.31% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $704,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.27. 11,898,764 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,108,983. The company has a market capitalization of $199.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $80.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

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.