Summit Global Investments Acquires 47,355 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 31.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,024 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,355 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.2% of Summit Global Investments' portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company's stock worth $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $2,376,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $896,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $88.06. The stock had a trading volume of 13,807,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,304,352. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $92.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $222.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, 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.

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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. TD Securities 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.12.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.