Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Director Inge G. Thulin Buys 2,833 Shares of Stock

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.26 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.87. The company has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $87.12 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 361,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,955,000 after acquiring an additional 32,726 shares during the period. PFG Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 26,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,644,000 after purchasing an additional 3,489 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $1,391,000. AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 34,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,462,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% 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.