Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 40,740 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after buying an additional 1,836,505 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings 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 valued at $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners decreased their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.97 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $199.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company 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.