St. James Investment Company LLC Sells 122,717 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

St. James Investment Company LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 55.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 97,746 shares of the company's stock after selling 122,717 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.7% of St. James Investment Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. St. James Investment Company LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after buying an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company's stock worth $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $2.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.08. 13,919,428 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,082,011. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.82. The company has a market cap of $219.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was 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. 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.