GQG Partners LLC Has $5.76 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

GQG Partners LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 93.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 852,497 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 117,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,305,000 after purchasing an additional 17,458 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,653,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,044,000 after buying an additional 387,420 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 131,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,924,000 after buying an additional 56,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.9% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade 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 company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $92.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. 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 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.78.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

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.