Advisors Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,007 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,163 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $5,269,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 406,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,467,000 after buying an additional 21,071 shares during the last quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,320,000. Qtron Investments LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 35,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,497,000 after acquiring an additional 3,189 shares during the period. Finally, Ceeto Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC now owns 24,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Bank of America decreased 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. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.50.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %
MRK traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.28. 16,039,392 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,584,687. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $197.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $88.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.04. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $134.63.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.
Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Free Report)
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.
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