Capital Research Global Investors Buys 2,431,430 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 119.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,473,385 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,431,430 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $445,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the third quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,540,000 after buying an additional 14,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $77.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $196.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.16. 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. has a 52-week low of $75.93 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners decreased 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 cut their target price on shares of 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.