Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by OV Management LLC

OV Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,723 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares during the period. OV Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.3% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 20,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,384,000 after buying an additional 11,246 shares in the last quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.8% during the third quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 50,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,791,000 after buying an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,260.6% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 381,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,356,000 after buying an additional 353,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 118,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,401,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $89.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $226.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $91.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.