Smead Capital Management Inc. Has $330.48 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,978,599 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 255,497 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 7.1% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $330,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. now owns 14,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advisors Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 5,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 72.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, April 10th. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $1.37 on Friday, reaching $110.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,350,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,760,003. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $138.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.26. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $83.05 and a 12 month high of $119.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 37.92%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 57.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total value of $16,472,801.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 271,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total transaction of $16,472,801.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 271,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,788.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,372,296.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 488,258 shares of company stock valued at $56,481,018 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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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.