Hancock Whitney Corp Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,308 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,802 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $189,262,000 after buying an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,761,000 after buying an additional 422,382 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price 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, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.13.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $79.93 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $87.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.93 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $201.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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

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.