Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Lowered by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,666 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,753 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $27,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,778,388 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the third 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 raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the third 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 and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $240.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.96 and a 200-day moving average of $102.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

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.