ING Groep NV Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

ING Groep NV raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 52.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,384,512 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 478,464 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.9% of ING Groep NV's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. ING Groep NV owned about 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $137,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after buying an additional 1,536,474 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after buying an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,016,374,000 after buying an additional 309,656 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $89.40. 15,641,321 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,774,290. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.21.

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

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.39.

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.