Essential Planning LLC. Acquires New Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,141,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,538,000 after acquiring an additional 7,549 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $106,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 24,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the period. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 12,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $93.44 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.19. 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 stock has a market cap of $236.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

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.