Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Sells 1,258 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 596,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,258 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.3% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $59,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,809,000 after purchasing an additional 14,664 shares in the last quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP now owns 280,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 2,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 52,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,272,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.09 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.50. The firm has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.