Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 81.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,408 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,163 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after buying an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,761,000 after acquiring an additional 422,382 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. Stock Down 0.8 %

MRK opened at $92.39 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $92.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.78. 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 company has a market cap of $233.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

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.