Whipplewood Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after buying an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. 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 valued at $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3 %

MRK opened at $90.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.59. 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 company has a market cap of $229.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG 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.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.58%. 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.