Orca Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Orca Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $97.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $99.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.34. The company has a market capitalization of $246.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

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.