Broyhill Asset Management Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Broyhill Asset Management bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MRK traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,039,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,584,687. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. 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 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $88.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.04.

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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). 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 analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of 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. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of 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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.