Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI Has $16.99 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 170,787 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,816 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.6% of Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was 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 owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $218.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.73 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $98.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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.