Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys Shares of 265,283 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 265,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,390,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.7% of Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.1% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,809,000 after buying an additional 4,954 shares during the last quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the third quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 33,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $695,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of 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. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of 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. Eleven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $94.84 on Tuesday. 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. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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.