Motco Acquires 3,527 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Motco grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,239 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.4% of Motco’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Motco’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,507,000 after acquiring an additional 6,378 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 34,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.5% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 3,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 58,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,781,000 after buying an additional 4,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 20,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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. The trade was 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. Trading Up 1.3 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $90.58 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $229.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.77 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

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.