Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Has $3.41 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,385 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,976 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 137,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,684,000 after buying an additional 6,321 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 123,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,259,000 after acquiring an additional 20,491 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 55,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,565,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Martin Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 50,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,988,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $86.61 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade 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

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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.