NewEdge Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 410,723 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,837 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $40,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,872,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,976,911,000 after buying an additional 3,823,283 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,452,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,537,189,000 after buying an additional 2,847,934 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities lowered 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.28 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.96 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $197.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.