Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,191,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,020,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

MRK traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $77.50. The company had a trading volume of 11,867,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,568,652. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

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.