10,957 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Fjell Capital LLC

Fjell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,090,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Advisor OS LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,210,000 after acquiring an additional 7,272 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,714,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 44,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,450,000 after acquiring an additional 18,482 shares during the period. Strategent Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $358,000. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 387,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,523,000 after purchasing an additional 8,564 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $91.50 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.78. 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 $231.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now 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 insiders.

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.