Almanack Investment Partners LLC. Has $322,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Almanack Investment Partners LLC. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,241 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Almanack Investment Partners LLC.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. UBS Group reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $87.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $99.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.87. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $87.12 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

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.