Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Buys 48,662 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 38.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,172 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 48,662 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.9% of Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company's stock worth $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 worth $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in 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 worth $2,016,374,000 after acquiring an additional 309,656 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.45 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.49. The company had a trading volume of 12,839,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,055,025. The stock has a market cap of $246.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company's fifty day moving average price is $99.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.