Empire Life Investments Inc. Acquires 14,939 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 332,830 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,939 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 2.1% of Empire Life Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $33,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $83.01 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $97.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.09 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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.