Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 457,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,290 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.6% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $45,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after buying an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after buying an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after buying an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,785,000 after buying an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $2,080,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $91.22 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $95.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.