Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Lifted by Keene & Associates Inc.

Keene & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 29,240 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,485 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 2.3% of Keene & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Keene & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Source Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’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 value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $83.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $210.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

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.