Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Has $10.54 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,927 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,126 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Securities 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $2.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.83. The company had a trading volume of 27,768,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,892,682. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $87.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one year high of $134.63. 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 capitalization of $208.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. 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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company'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 value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.