Howland Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,400 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1% in the third quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 7,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the third quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.6% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 167,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,056,000 after purchasing an additional 42,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.12 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $98.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 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 directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.