Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,660 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,468,000 after buying an additional 3,623 shares during the period. Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 128,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,735,000 after acquiring an additional 12,091 shares in the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 40,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Investment Management grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 64,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,422,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.26 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.12 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $98.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.48. 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 announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

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.