Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 61,227 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 24,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after acquiring an additional 3,009 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $532,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,309,000 after buying an additional 18,775 shares during the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 10,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after buying an additional 3,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 32,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after buying an additional 3,521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $94.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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 50 day moving average is $94.03 and its 200-day moving average is $102.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

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.