Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 723,690 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 90.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 723,690 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 20,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 11,246 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 50,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,791,000 after acquiring an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,260.6% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 381,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,356,000 after acquiring an additional 353,692 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 118,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,401,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $89.74 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $91.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.82. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

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

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

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.