Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Decreased by Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC

Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during 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 buying an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,872,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,976,911,000 after acquiring an additional 3,823,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,452,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,537,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,847,934 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $78.77 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.86 and a 1 year high of $134.63. 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 fifty day moving average is $89.80 and its 200-day moving average is $98.25. The stock has a market cap of $198.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on 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. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim lowered their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

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.