Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,047,317 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,459,654 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,047,317 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.26% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $642,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities lowered 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 research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $77.99. 7,411,854 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,330,913. The company has a market cap of $196.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company's 50-day moving average price is $89.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.20 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.