Privium Fund Management B.V. Sells 31,518 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Privium Fund Management B.V. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.4% in the first quarter, now owning 41,093 shares worth approximately $3.69 million.
• Multiple hedge funds increased their positions in Merck, with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp. growing its holdings by 25.7%, now totaling 2,234,019 shares valued at $200.53 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Merck, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $107.44, following recent adjustments from firms like Citigroup and Wells Fargo.

Privium Fund Management B.V. decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 43.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,093 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,518 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.0% of Privium Fund Management B.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Privium Fund Management B.V.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Tilson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company's stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of MRK stock traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $79.27. The company had a trading volume of 11,898,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,108,983. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.44. The company has a market cap of $199.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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