Northeast Investment Management Has $6.42 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Northeast Investment Management raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,556 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 714 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 4,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 370,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,816,000 after purchasing an additional 59,386 shares during the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $2,115,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 320,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,912,000 after buying an additional 72,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.72 and a 200 day moving average of $106.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.12 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on 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. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents 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 company insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.