Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Lessened by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 74.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,308 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,016 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $1,759,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the third 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. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $99.79 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 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 market cap of $252.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.54.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board 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.