Fisher Funds Management LTD Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 211,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,964,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $89.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

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.