Covestor Ltd Boosts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 116.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,490 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 71,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,098,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 145,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,456,000 after buying an additional 24,039 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 1,225,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,905,000 after acquiring an additional 18,811 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $257,000. Finally, F M Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 4.6 %

NYSE MRK traded down $3.78 on Thursday, hitting $78.13. 3,168,385 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,387,010. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.00 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $89.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $197.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners cut 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, TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.50.

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.