U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 37.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,734 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,640 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company's stock worth $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake 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 acquiring 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 acquiring an additional 2,134,296 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.67.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.
NYSE MRK opened at $99.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $252.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.54. 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 also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.
Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
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.
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