Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 792,148 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 60.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 515,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 792,148 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $58,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 88.3% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 16,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,184,000 after buying an additional 7,765 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the first quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 64,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,548,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,975,000 after purchasing an additional 6,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $96.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $108.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.