Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $23.85 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 45.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 239,752 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,383 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 101.3% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 2,359 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,046,000. Sciencast Management LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 664.0% during the fourth quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 31,583 shares of the company's stock worth $3,142,000 after buying an additional 27,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,311,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented 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 decreased their price target on shares of 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of 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. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.12.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded down $3.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $88.74. The company had a trading volume of 5,678,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,243,650. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $224.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $92.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.78.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. 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 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.