WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $3.13 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,420 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’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 directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $83.01 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.09 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.06.

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.