Edge Capital Group LLC Has $2 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Edge Capital Group LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 88.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 159,265 shares during the quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after buying an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,016,374,000 after purchasing an additional 309,656 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $89.40 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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 fifty day moving average of $95.46 and a 200-day moving average of $104.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company 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 company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of 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. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 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 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.