World Investment Advisors Acquires 6,321 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,554 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,321 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.3% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 511 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,099 shares of the company's stock worth $4,670,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 28,349 shares of the company's stock worth $3,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 29,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $86.32. 12,677,592 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,140,435. 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 $218.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock's fifty day moving average is $91.18 and its 200 day moving average is $99.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.