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

Callan Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,395 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,770 shares during the period. Callan Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% in the third 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 last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $89.40 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year 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 50 day simple moving average of $95.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.21. The stock has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.