Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,217,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 248,291 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.3% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $220,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,125,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,002,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 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 $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities lowered 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $93.22 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $94.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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. (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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.