Syon Capital LLC Has $2.91 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,207 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 690 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CGN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.21 and a 200-day moving average of $95.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.93 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.