M. Kulyk & Associates LLC Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,445 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,573 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.5% of M. Kulyk & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Miramar Capital LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 87,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,724,000 after acquiring an additional 10,330 shares in the last quarter. Argentarii LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $391,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $65,142,000. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 97,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,747,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 23,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after buying an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC raised shares of 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. TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $94.71 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.65. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

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.