Prospect Financial Group LLC Invests $254,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Prospect Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after buying an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $92.39 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $233.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.78. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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.