Parallel Advisors LLC Has $5.86 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Parallel Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,925 shares of the company’s stock after selling 753 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.1% in the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 4,954 shares during the period. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the third quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 33,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $695,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $94.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.