Corps Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Corps Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 195,053 shares of the company's stock worth $19,404,000 after acquiring an additional 53,967 shares during the period. Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 329,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,746,000 after purchasing an additional 38,652 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 3,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,278,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 517,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,510,000 after purchasing an additional 206,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $1.72 on Friday, reaching $89.40. The company had a trading volume of 15,641,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,774,290. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $95.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.39.

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.