Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 361,433 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,726 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $35,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company's stock worth $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $484,231,000 after buying an additional 2,610,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $611,924,000 after buying an additional 2,194,463 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.12.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MRK
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %
Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $94.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week 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 company has a market cap of $239.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.
Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
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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