Apollon Financial LLC Has $274,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Apollon Financial LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,759 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Apollon Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Opinicus Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 12,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 181,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,066,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. now owns 3,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 12,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein began 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $87.26 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.12 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 is 48.14%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.