Scotia Capital Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.3%, selling 32,485 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 284,066 shares valued at approximately $25.5 million.
• Merck will distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.1%, with the dividend payment scheduled for October 7th.
• Recent analyst reports indicate a shift in sentiment, with several firms lowering their price targets on Merck shares, resulting in a general consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $107.44.

Scotia Capital Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 284,066 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,485 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $25,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock worth $2,143,571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,737 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,375,974 shares of the company's stock worth $1,828,040,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,313 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,452,240 shares of the company's stock worth $1,537,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,847,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $80.79. 3,852,710 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,744,486. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The company's 50-day moving average price is $80.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.29. The company has a market cap of $202.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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.