TIAA Trust National Association Sells 182,611 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• TIAA Trust National Association reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.8%, selling 182,611 shares and retaining 207,452 shares worth $18.62 million.
• Analyst ratings for Merck have varied, with Cantor Fitzgerald downgrading the stock to a "cautious" rating and Citigroup lowering the target price to $84.
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.1%, to be paid on October 7th to investors of record as of September 15th.

TIAA Trust National Association trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 46.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 207,452 shares of the company's stock after selling 182,611 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reissued 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. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.27 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The stock has a market cap of $199.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $80.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.63%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.

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