Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,475 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in 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 worth $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in 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 valued at $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,194,463 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $85.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.61 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.82 and its 200 day moving average is $105.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.06.

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.