Focus Financial Network Inc. Has $1.35 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,498 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. E&G Advisors LP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Shayne & Jacobs LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $218.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.73 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $98.44 and its 200 day moving average is $106.06. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.94.

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.