denkapparat Operations GmbH Makes New $1.48 Million Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 14,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 2.2% of denkapparat Operations GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after buying an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $87.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $92.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.