Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 396,589 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,197,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 396,589 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.32% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $815,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,872,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,976,911,000 after purchasing an additional 3,823,283 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $87.08 on Wednesday. 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 $219.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a PEG 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders 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 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

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

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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.