Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 1,017,382 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,813,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,017,382 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $578,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,640,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 546,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,375,000 after acquiring an additional 207,497 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,285,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,322,000 after acquiring an additional 629,303 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $12,282,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,556.0% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $225.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.92 and its 200 day moving average is $100.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.