HUB Investment Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 127,991 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,873 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 508,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 291,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,011,000 after acquiring an additional 13,664 shares in the last quarter. Viawealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Viawealth LLC now owns 5,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $536,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $93.98 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.23 and a 200-day moving average of $101.40. The firm has a market cap of $237.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price 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, TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.