Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Stamos Capital Partners L.P.

Stamos Capital Partners L.P. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 31.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,680 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 29,500 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.9% of Stamos Capital Partners L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Stamos Capital Partners L.P.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.89 on Tuesday, reaching $78.28. 16,039,392 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,584,763. The company has a market capitalization of $197.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $134.63. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $88.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.91.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

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

Insider Activity

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

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.