UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 46,075 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,273 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 131,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,924,000 after acquiring an additional 56,495 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,152,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,067,000 after purchasing an additional 145,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Tower Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $221.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $92.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued 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 3.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.