Van Strum & Towne Inc. Has $825,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,293 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $94.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $93.57 and its 200-day moving average is $101.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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.