Greenwich Wealth Management LLC Has $664,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,672 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares during the quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $2,080,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,649,000 after acquiring an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $94.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $239.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued 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 is presently 48.14%.

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.