Samlyn Capital LLC Has $30.94 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Samlyn Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 249,902 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190,792 shares during the quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 6,421 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 73,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,026,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 692,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,545,000 after acquiring an additional 15,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 208,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,699,000 after acquiring an additional 65,389 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $117.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.44, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.