GWN Securities Inc. Purchases Shares of 14,578 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 14,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,393,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Facet Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 3,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $309,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 19,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 1,686 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $94.72 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $239.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $93.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.