Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Purchases 588 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 181,606 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.3% of Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the period. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 37,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the third quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the third quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 85,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,695,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 7,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was 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 NYSE:MRK opened at $87.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.87. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.12 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

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.