Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Boosted by Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.

Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,283 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the quarter. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after buying an additional 1,536,474 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,125,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,002,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,878 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $94.72 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $93.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 currently 48.14%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen cut shares of 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 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 approximately $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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.