OV Management LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

OV Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,723 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the quarter. OV Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,872,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,976,911,000 after buying an additional 3,823,283 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,346,000 after buying an additional 2,778,388 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $89.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $226.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.82.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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.