Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Cuts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 72.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 503,208 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,292,388 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $45,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.21 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $210.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. 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 lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.