Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,080,661 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 310,850 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $305,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 2,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares during the last quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the third quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. now owns 30,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $10,138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 5.7 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $81.48 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.18. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.