Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $48.95 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 490,373 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,387 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $48,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Burling Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $5,609,000. Syon Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 29,207 shares of the company's stock worth $2,906,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 40,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,053,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 8,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the period. Finally, ClearAlpha Technologies LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $243,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3 %

MRK opened at $78.73 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.93 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company's 50-day moving average is $87.12 and its 200 day moving average is $95.61.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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