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

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 60.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 515,844 shares of the company's stock after selling 792,148 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $58,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.90 on Wednesday, reaching $97.44. The stock had a trading volume of 10,455,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,959,392. The business's 50-day moving average price is $108.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $246.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Barclays dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.