World Investment Advisors Has $13.68 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

World Investment Advisors raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,554 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,321 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.3% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,670,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 28,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,266 shares during the period. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 29,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,381,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a 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 that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Securities cut 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, February 10th. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued 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 $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $86.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $218.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.