Quantbot Technologies LP Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,867 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,577 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.5% of Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 6,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,201,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $767,965,000 after acquiring an additional 431,074 shares during the last quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.7% during the second quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 4,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.9% during the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,969,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,616,000 after acquiring an additional 701,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC now owns 71,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,909,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5 %

MRK opened at $115.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $118.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $293.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.