27,684 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Bought by Madison Investment Advisors LLC

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 27,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,754,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Citigroup lowered their target price on 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. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.12.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $94.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.99. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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