Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 40.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,966 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,006 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. E&G Advisors LP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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. TD Cowen cut 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 report on Monday. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MRK opened at $85.71 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $216.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.61 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.