Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 4,480,007 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 63.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.46% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $1,151,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. CGN Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,978,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $78.78. The stock had a trading volume of 7,453,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,728,067. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.93 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $87.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.72. 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 $198.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.