ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC Boosts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 76.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,539 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,914 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.1% of ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 5,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 23,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 24,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,792,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.4% in the third quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. now owns 6,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partners cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $92.23 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.63 and a 200-day moving average of $103.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $232.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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.