Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Freestone Capital Holdings LLC

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,106 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,649,000 after acquiring an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.7 %

MRK stock opened at $93.22 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.94. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $235.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

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.