Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,635 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.4% of Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company's stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company's stock worth $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,649,000 after buying an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.67.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %
Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.79. The company has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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