Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Pasadena Private Wealth LLC

Pasadena Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,510 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $210.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.