Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,393 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related 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 transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 $258,837.25. This 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $93.44 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $93.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.97. The firm has a market cap of $236.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’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. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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.