Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,345,122 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 371,758 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $332,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 571,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,931,000 after purchasing an additional 48,368 shares during the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 2,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy CG LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.4% during the third quarter. Legacy CG LLC now owns 52,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,999,000 after buying an additional 3,629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $92.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.37 and a 200-day moving average of $103.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $233.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period last 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. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.