Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Weinberger Asset Management Inc

Weinberger Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,844 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Weinberger Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 1,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Greenspring Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Finally, FCG Investment Co increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 12,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $91.22 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $230.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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’s 50-day moving average is $95.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.