Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Borer Denton & Associates Inc.

Borer Denton & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,124 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,924,000 after buying an additional 2,194,463 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $87.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $92.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.57. The company has a market capitalization of $221.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63. 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 announced 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.