Cross Staff Investments Inc Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,398 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.67. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

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.