Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 39.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 907,237 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 254,691 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $90,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company's stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,540,000 after purchasing an additional 14,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $78.56. 9,514,041 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,775,881. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $87.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.93 and a 52-week high of $134.63. 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 company has a market cap of $198.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.