Westpac Banking Corp Sells 5,912 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,912 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.8% of Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $398,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 7,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,795,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,542,000 after purchasing an additional 121,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 31,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,117,000 after buying an additional 6,886 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $80.09 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $80.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.