Platform Technology Partners Purchases 901 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Platform Technology Partners grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,918 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 901 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $87.26 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $99.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.87. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $87.12 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.