Callan Family Office LLC Has $5.17 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Callan Family Office LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1,005.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,951 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 47,250 shares during the quarter. Callan Family Office LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $2,080,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,649,000 after purchasing an additional 62,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $93.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $237.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.13 and a 200-day moving average of $102.87. 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 one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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). 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.