Sit Investment Associates Inc. Has $9.08 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3%, owning 101,166 shares after selling 9,126 shares, with holdings worth approximately $9.08 million.
• Several institutional investors made varied adjustments to their positions in Merck, with Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increasing its holdings by 64.4% to 186,529 shares, valued at around $16.74 million.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.9%, highlighting its payout ratio of 49.92%.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,166 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,126 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $398,000. MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $644,000. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8,711.6% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 652,231 shares of the company's stock worth $64,884,000 after buying an additional 644,829 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Square LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 11,181 shares of the company's stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.35. 10,479,282 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,960,206. The firm has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.18 and a 200 day moving average of $83.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.