13,266 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Bought by Crux Wealth Advisors

Crux Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,320,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock worth $6,072,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.28. The stock had a trading volume of 16,038,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,563,468. The firm has a market cap of $197.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.04. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Leerink Partners cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.50.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.